Friday the 13th... so you believe?

Friday the 13th is a superstition about a day of good or bad luck and is the most feared day of the year to some people.

But, according to folklorists, there is no written evidence for a "Friday the 13th" superstition before the 19th century. The earliest known documented reference in English occurs in an 1869 biography of Gioachino Rossini. It somehow has caused many people to believe that it brings bad luck. I have come across some people who are so superstitious that whenever anything bad, undesirable or unexptected happens to them, they will somehow "creatively" find something or somebody to blame on. Such people would never find themselves in the wrong and as such would never learn from their own mistakes. Talking about superstitions, by the way, the ancient Chinese even believed that an expectant mother should not paint because if she does, the baby would be born blind. Don't you find it ridiculous?

According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day. Some people are so paralyzed by fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed.

Come on, don't you think many accidents happen everyday, whether it is Friday the 13th or not? Actually, on all the Fridays the 13th, many good things also have happened! It is just that people do not even allow themselves to realise such happenings because their mnds are so conditioned and overwhelmed by the superstition.

So, you see, how the human mind works is really amazing, we can condition it to think and believe the way we want it to be. If we are not rational or careful enough, we can end up believing in many things without even giving it a second thought! In future, think twice before we believe any of these passed-down superstitions.