Friday The 13th And Utah’s Superstitions

There's a group of people in Utah who celebrate, well, superstition.

And Friday the 13th is their biggest day of the year.

"I'm not saying other people are naïve, but I've seen a lot of things happen that have no explanation," says Jodi (not her real name). "Everyone has a little bit of superstition in them, whether it's the route they drive home from work, the color of socks they wear, or maybe the kind of food they eat when their favorite sports team is playing. We just take it a step further."

Jodi, who is from St. George, is a part of a group of people who commiserate on social media, sharing stories of success and failure when it comes to luck and the aligning of the proverbial (and literal) stars.

With today being Friday the 13th, Jodi says it's everyone's lucky day.

"I've always felt this was a good day, not a bad one," she said. "Good things seem to just happen on Friday the 13th."

The origin of Friday the 13th being an unlucky day date back to religious and cultural beliefs. In Christianity, it is associated with the Last Supper, where Judas, the 13th guest, betrayed Jesus, leading to his crucifixion on a Friday. That's according to USA TODAY.

For the record, there will be only one Friday the 13th next year (in June), but 2026 will have three of them (February, March and November).

The No. 13 has definitely crept into society as a number of misfortune, so much so that architects of tall buildings blatantly skip the 13th floor. Most high-rises go from the 12th to the 14th floor.

One official with the Otis Elevator Company said the number of tall buildings that skip the 13th floor vs. those that actually have that floor is 6-to-1.

The fear of the number 13 is called triskaidekaphobia.

Psychologist Barry Markovski said one reason 13 is considered unlucky is "its reputation may be connected to a feeling of unfamiliarity. In everyday life, 13 is less common than 12. There’s no 13th month, 13-inch ruler, or 13 o'clock. By itself a sense of unfamiliarity won’t cause a phobia, but psychological research shows that we favor what is familiar and disfavor what is not."

So if you're feeling a little uneasy about today, maybe grab a rabbit's foot on your way out the door this morning.

Or better yet, knock on that wooden door.

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