Thread: Why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky

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Hi Folks.

I think most of us Halloween enthusiasts know that "Friday the 13th" is considered spooky or unlucky day. Do you know why?

Let me share the history with you, as I was a member of DeMolay International as a young man and am now a member of Freemasonry and have some familiarity with the concept of it's origin.

Jacques de Molay (est. 1244 – 18 March 1314) was the 23rd and officially last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, leading the Order from approximately 1292 until the Order was dissolved by order of the Pope in 1312. He is probably the best known Templar, along with the Order's founder and first Grand Master, Hugues de Payens (1070-1136). Jacques de Molay spoke with the king in Paris on June 24, 1307 about the accusations against his order and was partially reassured. Returning to Poitiers, he asked the pope to set up an inquiry to quickly clear the order of the rumours and accusations surrounding it. When the pope announced that an inquiry would be convened 24 August, the king acted decisively. On 14 September, in the deepest secrecy, he sent out his orders throughout all of France which resulted in mass arrests of Templars and confiscation of their possessions on Friday, October 13, 1307. Jacques de Molay and sixty of his Templar brothers were arrested in Paris, while he was planning to attend the funeral of Catherine of Valois. It is rumored that this day is the origin of the Friday the 13th stigma.

de Molay's goal as Grand Master was to reform the Order, and adjust it to the situation in the Holy Land during the waning days of the Crusades. With no crusader states remaining to protect, and with other problems surfacing, the right of the Order to exist had come into question. King Philip IV of France, deeply in debt to the organization, had De Molay and many other French Templars arrested in 1307 and tortured into making what is generally believed to have been mainly false confessions. When De Molay later retracted his confession, Philip had him burned at the stake on the Ile des Juifs, next to the Ile de la Cite, an island in the Seine river in Paris, on 18 March 1314.

Not a pleasant way to die, I am sure.

Information about the modern-day Knights Templar is here.

dr terroreyes, my father was a member, and a lot of the relatives on my mothers side were members. my grandson is 13 and he has joined. my father was always very proud to be a member. as a little girl we always went to the circuses but until i was older i never knew my father was active in the organizing of and running the circus. last summer my grandson attended a camp for young men. what a wonderful camp it was. they held classes in leadership, respecting others, keeping your word, following through, and many other honerable topics. they got to horse back ride, swim, rock climb, canoe, archery, target practice and more. they stayed in little cabins and there were kids from many states they got to meet. they were in missouri and learned about the state. my grandson didn't want to come home, he loved it. and the best part is it was at a very affordable price. this coming summer they will be going to another state and have the opportunity to learn of that state. during the year they have dances, sleep overs, ebox tournaments and lots of things to keep the kids busy. this coming week end they are meeting to plan the chilli for a chilli cookoff they will be attending. this is a very wonderful opportunity for young folks.
your information above is very interesting, i think i will print it off and share it with our leaders here. thanks

I never knew that, it's very interesting to read and to know. It's interesting especially cuz we got ancestors in Italy -> de Medici if you're interested in you can follow this Link: House of Medici - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hellowinnie

hallowinnie, very interesting. i never heard of them before. thanks for the education.

Thanks for that wonderful tidbit! I had no idea.

I had always heard that Friday the 13th was unlucky because of their being 12 Apostles with Jesus as the 13th and Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

Thank the mighty internet and his Wikipedia!
Friday the 13th - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But I don't think it's unlucky (here in Italy it's Friday the 17th that is unlucky, but I don't care about that either)
In fact, just on Friday the 13th (yesterday) a small black kitten (AH!) came on our front door, and I think we just adopted her... She's so cute!

I heard the Knoghts Templar story years and years ago, but I was of the impression that the Freemasons was some sort of "Shadow" fraternity that was pretty much restricted to a very elite few. Something like the Illuminati.

Halloreenessence, are you telling us that you are a member of the Illuminati?

i looked up illuminati, interesting. and wolfman, where did you come to the conclusion i was?

I was born on a Friday the 13th.