Don’t Break Any Mirrors Today- It’s Friday The 13th!

Watch out for black cats, ladders, broken mirrors and anything else associated with superstitions or Friday the 13th, because it's just begun! Don't forget about the hockey-masked psycho serial killer who might be lurking in the bushes outside your house or hiding in your closet. OK, I'm just kidding, but there are some people who are deathly afraid of this day and don't even leave their house because of it. Where did it come from though and how did it form into what it is today? Read on to find out, but keep a flashlight handy incase Jason cuts off your electricity!

The rumor and bad luck of today has been around since the 19th century, when an 1869 biography of composer Gioachino Rossini, written by author Henry Sutherland Edwards revealed the date to be unlucky:

Rossini was surrounded to the last by admiring and affectionate friends; Why Friday the 13th Is Unlucky.

In accordance, Friday has been considered an unlucky day since the 14th century and the time of the Canterbury Tales. Black Friday, which takes place the Friday after Thanksgiving, is also associated, as it is linked to stock market crashes and other disasters.

Friday the 13th happens one to three times a year- usually in a month that begins on a Sunday, and has always been

associated with bad luck. But why? And how? A lot of the urban legend can be traced back to early Christianity and the days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, along with the crucifixion of Jesus, which both happened on Fridays. Other theories discuss the day in lieu of  Knights Templar.

As for the number 13, it has always been considered unlucky because it follows 12- a very even, equal and complete number. 12 represents a lot of things, including 12 months in a year, 12 numbers on a clock, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 Gods of Olympus and 12 to a dozen. Other superstitions involve Jesus and the Last Supper, which says if you have 13 people around a dinner table, one of them will die, leaving only 12.

The number 13 is so highly feared by some people that they don't leave their house, and some don't even get out of bed. Those who do leave the house avoid certain places and situations where they will be faced with the fear that goes along with the day. It's not just people though, as certain buildings don't have a 13th floor, hotels not having rooms with the number 13 and some planes or other large seating areas don't have a 13th row.

Because of the fact that so many people stay inside the safety and comfort of their homes today,  they aren't out shopping and running errands, which greatly affects businesses, who suffer a combined loss of $800-900 million. On a good note though, there are fewer auto accidents reported on Friday the 13th, as well as a decrease in other accidents, such as fires, because people take extra precaution on this day. Why can't we just be this careful everyday and get the overall numbers decreased?

What do think of Friday the 13th? Do you read in to all the legends and stay home or do you go about your day not even looking at your calendar and realizing the date?