Superstitions - Number 13 and you
By Andy Hagerty
Many people are affected by the common superstitions about the number 13. There is even a fancy name for this fear, Triskaidekaphobia. Many buildings will skip the 13th floor entirely. In France, they never Issue a house number with 13.In Italy the national Lottery does not have a number 13. This is such a pervasive sociological phenomenon, that cultures who had no particular feeling towards the number, have taken many of the same steps. For example, China has no tradition of Thirteen being bad, however they now will not allow thirteenth floors in their high rises.
Many people believe the tradition started due to Christianity. There were 13 people in the last supper, and one of those betrayed Jesus. However in pre Christian Scandinavia there is a tale of a banquet in Valhalla. At this banquet 12 gods were invited. Loki, not being one of the twelve decided to crash the party, and in the ensuing brouhaha to evict Loki, Balder who was a favorite of the other gods was slain.
In ancient Iranian civilization and the religion Zoroastrianism, 13 has been seen as unlucky. The 13th day of each new Iranian year is called Sizdah Be-dar. This day is considered a day which evil's power might cause difficulties for people; Therefore people desert the cities and urban areas for one day and camp in the countryside. This tradition is apparently still practiced in modern day Iran despite the wishes of Islamic
government.
government.
This phobia is so strong that License plates in the Republic of Ireland were changed for this year. Normally the first 2 digits of a vehicle’s registration are the last two digits of the year. (i.e. 11 is a 2011 registered car,). In 2012 there were concerns that the prospect of having "13" registered vehicles might discourage motorists from buying new cars. This would cause a slump in car sales. In response the government introduced a system whereby 2013 registered vehicles would have their registration plates age identifier string modified to read "131" for vehicles registered in the first half of 2013 and "132" for those registered in the second half of 2013.
