Today’s the day when superstition is highest

It’s Friday the 13th

Are you superstitious?

No? Are you sure?

Do you knock on wood or never open an umbrella indoors or never walk under a ladder or avoid breaking a mirror or avoid stepping on a crack in the sidewalk or take a different route if a black cat crosses your path or pick up a stray penny?

OK, well maybe you are superstitious … at least a little.

If there’s no doubt that you’re superstitious, then today’s probably your big day. Today is Friday the 13th, the superstition that tops most yikes lists. (If you encountered someone wearing a hockey mask today, don’t assume it’s Jason Voorhees. But if he’s wielding an axe or machete, then it just may be the movie franchise come to life.)

For those who wonder, there are two unpronounceable words that apply today: triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) and paraskevidekatriaphobia (fear of Friday the 13th). Now try using either of these words in conversation today.

If you’re a “triskie,” don’t fret. You’re one of millions who dread this age-old, most superstitious of days that’s synonymous with bad luck. There are two Friday the 13th’s this year (the other is in October) and two next year, but there was only one in 2021 and 2022, and a single one coming up in 2025. There were three in 2015, and three coming up in 2026.

But why does Friday the 13th get a bum wrap?

Friday has long been considered an unlucky day, because that was the day Jesus died.

The number 13 is commonly linked to early Christians, because there were 13 people — Jesus and his 12 Apostles — present at the Last Supper, and some say Judas was the 13th to join the table. This may be the origin of the superstition that says when 13 dine, one will die within the year.

And it was Friday the 13th in October 1307 that King Philip IV of France had all the Knights Templar arrested.

But in everyday life, the number 13 holds particular importance … or infamy. In most Western- culture hotels, there’s no 13th floor. In addition, many airlines omit the 13th row in seating. And even some cities and towns, when numbering streets, skip over 13th Street. You won’t find a 13th Street in Sallisaw, Vian or Roland, primarily because there are no numbered streets. There’s no 13th Street in Muldrow, either, but that’s because the numbered streets stop at 12th Street. But in Fort Smith, city planners consciously avoided having a 13th Street, at least on the south side — South 12th Street and South 14th Street are one block apart, but there is a North 13th Street. There’s also a 13th Street in Van Buren.

Since 13 is now top of mind for you, here are 13 of the most common superstitions you may encounter:

• Friday the 13th. This is the big one, but it only lasts until midnight.

• Opening an umbrella indoors. This is unlucky not just because you could poke someone’s eye out, but opening an umbrella indoors is considered bad luck.

• Cross your fingers. Those wishing for luck often cross their fingers.

• Wishing on a wishbone. You probably did this last Thanksgiving when the main course was reduced to bones. The one who ends up with the largest portion of the bone when pulled gets their wish.

• Knock on wood. The phrase is meant to ward off bad luck after tempting fate. It may have come from old myths about good spirits in trees.

• 666. Another big one. In the Book of Revelation, 666 is given as the number of the beast, and is interpreted as the mark of Satan and a sign of the end times.

• Breaking a mirror. According to folklore, breaking a mirror is a surefire way to doom yourself to seven years of bad luck.

• Bad luck comes in threes. It’s believed that bad luck comes in threes, such as when one celebrity dies, two more will soon follow. Of course, if you’re looking for examples of bad luck, you can probably come up with three.

• Black cat crossing your path. This superstition most likely arose from beliefs in witches and their animal familiars, which were often said to take the form of domestic animals like cats.

• Don’t walk under a ladder. This one arises from the Holy Trinity. Since a ladder leaning against a wall forms a triangle (a trinity), “breaking” that triangle is blasphemous.

But not all superstitions are about bad luck.

• Lucky rabbit’s foot. Talismans and amulets have long been a way of fending off evil, like the way crosses and garlic are supposed to keep vampires at bay. A rabbit’s foot is believed to have its origins from early Celtic tribes, as well as African-American folk magic.

• Find a penny, pick it up. If you do, all day long you’ll have good luck. Finding money is lucky in and of itself. But it might also be a spinoff of another old rhyme involving picking up a pin.

• Beginner’s luck. This is a phrase usually grumbled by an expert who just lost a game to a novice. Beginner’s luck is the idea that newbies are unusually likely to win when they try something for the first time.

There are also some particularly obscure, if not downright weird, superstitions.

• Don’t toast with water. Not only are you supposed to make eye contact with whom you’re clinking glasses, but the prevailing thought is that toasts should only be with wine or beer.

• Don’t whistle indoors. This is thought to call “little devils,” and is just considered rude.

• Don’t kiss across the threshold of a door. While carrying a bride over the threshold of a new home is a good thing, kissing or shaking hands across a threshold means you’ll become enemies.

• An itchy nose means bad news is coming. A number of cultures hold that an itchy nose is a sign of bad luck or bad news being on the way.

• Itchy hands impact finances. An itchy left palm means you’ll be paying money or losing money, while an itchy right palm means money is soon coming your way.

• Don’t step on a sidewalk crack. This one came from an old children’s rhyme that warns you’ll break your momma’s back.

• Don’t buy a stroller before the baby is born. You can choose a stroller and even buy it, but don’t get it delivered until after the baby has safely been delivered.

• Don’t laugh as a hearse passes by. Is that why conversations are muted and levity is curbed as a hearse passes. It’s just a myth, but why test it?

• Don’t go directly home after a funeral. If you do, it’s thought you’ll carry with you bad spirits. You must “shake off the dust or dirt,” the bad spirits.

• Keep keys off the table. In Scandinavia, back in the day, prostitutes used to indicate their availability by placing their keys on the table. Therefore, it’s now frowned upon.

• Bird poop on you is good luck. Go figure. This may have grown out of a desire for those who got “dropped” on to make themselves feel better, and it continues to be widely believed, at least in some cultures.

• Stepping in dog poop is good luck. Who are these people? In France, if you step in dog poop on the sidewalk, it’s good luck … if it’s your left foot. If it’s your right foot, it’s bad luck.

• Avoid black sheep. Various European countries believe black-faced sheep bring bad luck for the rest of the flock. This is probably from where notions about being the black sheep of the family came.

• Don’t cut your nails at night. In Japan, it’s considered bad luck and is a harbinger of death.

• Don’t wish someone an early happy birthday. In Germany, it’s thought to invite bad luck, even if it’s just before midnight before the birthday date.

To be sure, good luck is preferable to bad luck. But as philosophers Buck Owens and Roy Clark relented on “Hee-Haw,” if it weren’t for bad luck, we’d have no luck at all.