The idea that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day originates from myths about both Fridays and the number 13.

Taking a look at Christian beliefs, which are pretty influential, Fridays are particularly significant. First, there's what the Christians call Good Friday- which was probably not-so-good for Jesus, 'cause that's the day He was crucified! Then there's the Friday that Adam and Eve supposedly ate the forbidden fruit and got kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Not to mention, there's the Great Flood which is also said to have started on a Friday; and the builders of the Tower of Babel were tongue-tied on a Friday and the Temple of Solomon got destroyed-- you guessed it-- on a Friday.

Gee, pretty unlucky, huh?

Now, throwing 13 into the match, we look at the Hindus, the Vikings, the Christians and the Egyptians as just some of the cultures for whom the number 13 has mythological and religious symbolism.

The Hindus, Christians and Vikings all held a similar beliefs that 13 people at a dinner party was nothing but bad luck and was just asking for death of at least one, if not all, the party-goers. This stems from the Hindu and Viking myth where 12 gods were gettin' down at such a dinner party and who should show up? Loki, the god of mischief! He crashes the shindig, incites a riot and everything went straight to- well, it didn't end well.

And don't forget the Last Supper in Christian tradition! It hosted 13 people and what happened? One of the party-goers betrayed Christ, resulting in His crucifixion. (Well, guess who WON'T be invited back!)

The Egyptians equated the number 13 with death after 12 stages of life. The Egyptians were big on death though, calling it the ultimate journey (which is pretty much the truth) but because of other culture's negative connotation of death, the relation between the number 13 and death has been taken amiss.

Feeling superstitious, yet? No?

Some say the very source of the curse stems from a historical event that occured on Friday, Oct. 13 back in 1307. France's King Philip IV had the Knights Templar, the order of warriors within the Roman Catholic Church who protected Christian travellers visiting Jerusalem, arrested on charges of heresy- then tortured and executed. From that day forward, it is said every Friday the 13th has been marked.

So- whaddya think? Could it really be as unlucky as everyone makes it out to be? Not for unsuperstitious people like me. Personally, I think it's just everyone's imagination run amok. (Knock on wood.)