2015 has three Friday the 13ths. What are the odds?

2015 has three Friday the 13ths. What are the odds?
Mar 13, 2015
by Bruce McClure in Blogs » Human World

March 13, 2015 is the second of three Friday the 13ths for 2015. Here’s the story behind why 2015 has three Friday the 13ths.

March 13, 2015 is a Friday, ushering in Act II of this year’s epic Friday the 13th trilogy. We had a Friday the 13th in February, too – exactly four weeks before March’s Friday the 13th! Then we’ll have a Friday the 13th in November – exactly 39 weeks (3 x 13 weeks) after Friday, February 13, 2015!

Not that we at EarthSky suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia – an irrational fear of Friday the 13th – but, gosh darn, it’s Friday the 13th three times over in 2015. What’s more, last year’s lone Friday the 13th on June 13, 2014, occurred exactly 39 weeks (3 x 13 weeks) before this Friday the 13th in March 2015. Also, next year’s lone Friday the 13th on May 13, 2016, will happen exactly 26 weeks (2 x 13 weeks) after the Friday the 13th in November 2015. ...

Scary coincidence or super unlucky? Neither. It’s just a quirk of our calendar, as you’ll see if you keep reading.

The fact is that, according to folklorists, there’s no written evidence that Friday the 13th was considered unlucky before the 19th century. The earliest known documented reference in English appears to be in Henry Sutherland Edwards’ 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini. His portrait is on this page. He doesn’t look scary.

Friday has always gotten a bad rap. In the Middle Ages, people would not marry – or set out on a journey – on a Friday.

There are also some links between Christianity and an ill association with either Fridays or the number 13. ...

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