We’ve had 2016’s only Friday 13th

IF YOU made it through yesterday, then you can breathe a sigh of relief – because it was the only Friday 13th of the year.

There can be as many as three Friday the 13ths in a single year, but this year we had only one to deal with.

The date has been linked to bad luck for centuries, and in the Middle Ages people believed it was because there were 13 people at the Last Supper.

Since then there has been a long-standing myth that if 13 people dine together then one of them will die within a year.

The day’s unlucky status was intensified in 1907 with the publication of Thomas W. Lawson’s popular novel Friday the 13th, about a stockbroker who uses the superstition to create a Wall Street panic. Studies have shown there are more accidents on Friday the 13th, and some tall buildings and hotels won’t call a floor the 13th because of concerns about bad luck.

Often particularly superstitious homeowners avoid putting the number 13 on their door, and the fear even has its own name: ‘Triskaidekaphobia.’

But there are some good things associated with the date, as studies have shown that flights are cheaper on the day, as fewer people want to risk travelling.

Dr Caroline Watt, of the psychology department at the University of Edinburgh, said that, ironically, being frightened of the day can put you at risk.

She said: ‘If people believe in the superstition of Friday the 13th then they believe they are in greater danger on that day.

‘As a result they may be more anxious and distracted and this could lead to accidents. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is like telling someone they are cursed. If they believe they are then they will worry, their blood pressure will go up and they put themselves at risk’.

In 2017, Friday the 13th will strike twice. The next year when the date will occur only once is 2021. And the last time there was only one Friday 13th was 2014.