Friday the 13th
Today is Friday the 13th and for most people that is a most ominous day however, for me, the idea of the 13th has never been a superstitious one for me. Maybe it’s because I’m part Italian. Italians, while insanely superstitious, actually consider 13 a lucky number. They are absolutely terrified of the number 17 however, and you almost never find that number used. You can bet that if they ever build buildings that high they will skip the 17th floor.
Italians have a lot of strange superstitions and I encountered many of them daily while living in Rome. One of the most ancient superstitions is the wearing of a chili pepper in order to ward off evil. Back in the ancient roman times they wouldn’t wear chili peppers though, instead the would wear phalluses or display them prominently outside their homes to ward off the evil eye. The phallus was supposed to give fertility and luck to the wearer while also keeping the evil eye at bay. Eventually the phallic symbol evolved into the chili pepper since once the Catholic Church came to power it was deemed unseemly to wear such graphic symbols around one’s neck. You can see most Italians carry some sort of chili pepper or horn to ward off evil. All the Italians I knew had them on key chains or hanging from their rear view mirror.
Many superstitions have to do with warding off evil and are religious based. Italians will make the sign of the horns with their fingers to ward off the evil eye or the devil or both. The sign looks exactly like the Texas longhorns sign if you know American college football. Often times you will see this sign being made surreptitiously to ward off evil in public. Italians also believe that touching iron is lucky and often carry around a small nail to touch in case anything causes them bad luck, like black cats. This is definitely an issue while in Rome since there are so many cats.
Italians also avoid seating 13 people at a table. They have no problem with the number 13 except in this context. 13 people is an unlucky number to have seated together because the Last Supper had thirteen people seated around a table and we all know how well that worked out for Jesus.
Perhaps the most common superstitions I encountered had to do with the weather or more specifically the air. Italians are terrified of the air. If there is a light breeze in 90• weather they automatically put on a sweater. If the air conditioning is on at a restaurant they open the door. If you want to get out of doing something all you have to say is you don’t feel well because of l’aria (the air) and it may cause a febbre (a fever). It works like a charm, I promise.
This is the type of l’aria the Romans dread. When it snowed nobody went outside for a week at least.
One of my favorite superstitions has to do with Mount Vesuvius. It is claimed that mount Vesuvius will not erupt as long as a miracle occurs twice a year. The miracle is that at the church of San Gennaro there is a vial of Saint Jennarius’ blood. Twice a year, once in May and once in September, the vial miraculously changes from a solid to a liquid. When this occurs it means that Mount Vesuvius will not erupt and no harm will befall Naples.
These are just a few of the superstitions I encountered while in Italy. There are thousands of them and some are very regional while some, almost everyone believes in such as spilling salt spells bad luck and that to ensure good luck you must keep eye contact with those you are cheers-ing. Overall though the Italians are some of the most superstitious people I’ve met and I will be thinking of them on this lucky Friday the 13th.
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Alex and Ashley
Alex and I are foodies and boozies who are excited to travel the world one culture at a time in our upcoming round the world trip. We are setting out on this adventure to showcase all the wonderful people and cultures in the world through our writing, videos and photography. We will be traversing the globe from San Francisco to Iceland to Australia to South America over the next six years. We cannot wait to share our experiences with you.
2 thoughts on “Friday the 13th”
The Satori Saga says: November 18, 2014 at 20:44 Ha ha I hear some flights don’t even have seat number 13. To top it, I was born on a 13th the Friday. Heehaaa Reply inpursuitofadventureblog says: November 18, 2014 at 20:45 You must be lucky then! Reply
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Why Thirteen Gets Such a Bad Reputation
Fear of the number 13 has a surprisingly long history, and it is not only the Last Supper that gets blamed. The fear is so widespread that it even has a name: triskaidekaphobia. Fear of Friday the 13th in particular has its own, even more tongue-twisting word, paraskevidekatriaphobia. I like to imagine that anyone who can pronounce it correctly has earned a bit of good luck.
Part of the problem is that Friday itself already carried a reputation. Many Christians associate the day with the crucifixion, and sailors of old were reluctant to begin a voyage on a Friday. Put the two unlucky ideas together and you get a day that people have been quietly dreading for centuries. Twelve, by contrast, feels complete: twelve months, twelve hours on the clock, twelve apostles. Thirteen is the odd one out that spoils the tidy set.
Superstitions Hidden in Plain Sight
Once you start looking, the number 13 disappears from a surprising number of places. As my reader mentioned in the comments, some airlines skip row 13. The same thing happens in many hotels and apartment buildings, where the elevator goes straight from 12 to 14. Nobody is fooled, of course, since the 14th floor is really the 13th, but everyone feels a little better about it.
- Airplane rows that jump from 12 to 14
- Hotels with no 13th floor or no room 13
- Streets and houses that skip the number
- Dinner parties where a fourteenth guest is invited at the last minute
That last one always makes me smile, because it is exactly the same logic as the Italian table rule. Better to ask a neighbor to squeeze in than risk thirteen faces around the dinner plates.
Luck Is All a Matter of Where You Stand
What fascinates me most is that one culture's curse is another's charm. Italians cherish 13 and tremble at 17, in part because the Roman numeral XVII can be rearranged into VIXI, which in Latin means "I have lived", a phrase carved on tombstones. Other places have their own unlucky numbers entirely, and travelers soon learn to notice them.
That is one of the great joys of living abroad. You begin to see that these little rituals, the chili pepper on the key chain, the nail in the pocket, the sweater in 90 degree heat, are not really about fear. They are a way of belonging, a shared language of small gestures that tells your neighbors you are one of them. I have found that adopting even a few of them, like looking everyone in the eye when you clink glasses, is the quickest way to feel at home.
How to Spend Your Own Friday the 13th
If you do find yourself nervous when the date rolls around, take a page from the Italians and arm yourself. Keep a lucky charm nearby, touch something made of iron, and by all means avoid sitting thirteen to a table. Or do what I do and treat it as a day to celebrate. Cook a nice dinner, raise a glass, and remember to make eye contact. After all, if it is lucky in Italy, it can be lucky anywhere.