 |
| Imam Ali Shrine, pre-2006 (by Toushiro) |
"triskaidekaphobia" was coined in 1911. Tall buildings sometimes deliberately lack a thirteenth floor, and Friday the 13th is considered to be a very inauspicious day.
Nevertheless, thirteen has been heartily praised by some who seem to be extremely lucky (talent notwithstanding). A 2009 MTV News article
explained that Taylor Swift had "been seen around London… with the number 13 drawn on her hand." This was not just another celebrity fashion ploy, but rather a testament to her faith in that numeral.
Swift herself has said:
I paint this [13] on my hand before every
show because 13 is my lucky number – for a
lot of reasons… These reasons include the following: Swift was born on the 13th of December; she turned 13 on Friday the 13th; her first album went gold within 13 weeks; her first number-one song had a 13-second introduction; and so on… Coincidence? Swift thinks not. She
is convinced that "whenever a
13 comes up" in her life, "it's a good
thing."
Wikipedia adds a number of other "13-blessings" to the fortuitous mix. In Roman Catholicism, Saint Anthony is strongly associated with a devotional practice called Thirteen Tuesdays. In Judaism, youths become mature members of the faith at age 13. Imam Ali of
Shia Islam was born on the thirteenth day of the month of Rajab. A number of religions have one Messiah or Prophet plus 12 followers, thus totaling 13.
Resources
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1610839/taylor-swift-explains-why-13-her-lucky-number.jhtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_(number)
Copyright March 17, 2013 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment