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Did you know? Tuesday 13th is an unlucky day in Spain, not Friday 13th

The day Tuesday 13th is a day of bad luck in Spain, as opposed to Friday 13th in other cultures

Tuesday 13th is an unlucky day in Spain, and not Friday 13th as it is in the United States, the United Kingdom and other Western countries.

This makes the series of horror films titled ‘Friday the 13th’ somewhat confusing for Spaniards, but why is Friday 13th unlucky for some and Tuesday 13th unlucky for others?

Here, we unpack the origins and history of this superstition, and explain the Spanish saying that prohibits people from getting married and doing other things on a Tuesday.

Unlucky number 13

The number 13 is considered unlucky in many cultures. Jesus’ disciple and betrayer, Judas Iscariot, is said to have been the thirteenth guest to sit down at the Last Supper.

Thirteen also comes just after the number 12, which is a number that completes things (12 months to the year, 12 hours on the clock, 12 signs of the zodiac etc).

It is considered bad luck to have 13 people sitting at a dinner table, which is why some people pop put a teddy bear sitting in an extra chair to bring the number of guests up to 14.

Some hotels refuse to have a room number 13, and a lot of tall buildings skip out the thirteenth floor, jumping straight from 12 to 14.

But why Tuesday?

The countries that consider Tuesday 13th to be an unlucky day are Spain and Greece.

Tuesday 13th is unlucky in Spain and Greece because Tuesday is the day of the week that was dominated by Ares, the Greek god of war (known to the Ancient Romans as ‘Mars’) who gives his name to ‘martes’, which is Tuesday in Spanish.

In ancient Greece it was believed that Typhon, a terrifying monster and the god of hurricane winds, was born on a Tuesday. Tuesday was also the day of the week on which the fall of Constantinople took place and the day on which, according to the Bible, the confusion of the Tower of Babel took place.

For these reasons, Tuesday is something of a bellicose, violent and damned day. The Spanish even have a traditional proverb that warns people to avoid performing certain actions on a Tuesday:

“En martes, ni te cases, ni te embarques, ni de tu casa te apartes”

(On Tuesday, don’t get married, embark on a journey, or move away)

So now you know! Cancel that trip you have planned for next Tuesday, and for good measure check out these other weird Spanish superstitions that you should know.

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