African mythology tripes Friday the 13th concept

the mould of Valentines Day, Mothers Day or even Christmas.
Only Friday the 13th is more disconcerting, less edifying and less heroic.
But in Zimbabwe the fear or the uneasiness with the day is about one of the permanent fixtures of urban culture.
On such a day, many people are likely to feel nervous or apprehensive and believe that something nasty might take place.
Equally, some people are dismissive of the concept saying it does not apply to Africans, or anyone for that matter.
“I develop Goosebumps when I think of the day,” says Harare beautician Stella Jimu.
“I have had a couple of mishaps on this day which I think go down to this day. Perhaps I’m being influenced by what I see on television or read in the papers or magazines. To be honest this day freaks me out,” she said.
Another Harare resident Mr Chris Zvimba says that while the day might pass imperceptibly, consciousness of it is quite disconcerting.
“Fine, it might pass without you realising it’s Friday the 13th but when you realise it is, there is something that gives in within you,” he told The Herald in an interview.
“In that case you tend to worry. Personally I don’t know what do: whether to believe or not but I reckon there is no smoke without fire,” he said.
However, traditionalist Professor Gordon Chavunduka says the belief and the attendant fears on Friday the 13th have no place in African culture.
“This is because traditionally we had no calendars on which the belief is based,” he averred.
“People who believe that have been indoctrinated with European culture.”
A Christian woman, who is a religious columnist, says she does not believe in Friday the 13th.
She said: “As a Christian and Zimbabwean I don’t believe and subscribe to the Friday the 13th phenomenon.
“First of all, it’s unscriptural: The Word of God tells me that God created the seven days in a week, and He called each day good.
“The Word actually calls upon me as a believer to proclaim on every single day that it is the day that the Lord has made, and I should rejoice and be glad in it.
“However, Friday the 13th is a Western and pagan import that thrives on instilling fear, depicting lifestyles of the dark world.
“That spirit of fear is not what I as a Christian have, but through my belief in the Lord Jesus, I have the spirit of power (rulership over forces of darkness), love and a sound mind.”
She says that through Jesus Christ “good prevailed over evil”.
“So why should I elevate evil because someone says every Friday the 13th something ominous will happen?” she asked.
“Even if it is a prank, the bottom line is that words have power to build and/or destroy.
“And, why should I give it credence by even recognising it?
“Why should I be bound with fear when I know that I don’t belong to that world?”
She would not “allow the devil that free reign every Friday the 13th when he was totally vanquished by the death and resurrection of our Lord.”
Authorities point out that the fear and uneasiness about Friday the 13th stems from what is known as Triskaidekaphobia which means “the fear of number 13.”
A phobia is unreasoned dislike or fear of something.
One journal points that sometimes, this fear triggers panic attacks, affects family and business relationships.
It states that this fear is rooted in history, from Jesus’ Last Supper, the Mythological Norse gods, the Middle Ages when on Friday, October 13, 1307.
King Phillip IV of France ordered the arrest of the Grand Master of the Knights Templar and his senior knights and other members; the 18th century, when the British ship HMS Friday was launched on a Friday the 13th with one Jim Friday as captain, only for the ship never to be seen nor heard from again.
Other explanations say that the Biblical Eve tempted Adam with the apple on a Friday, that Noah’s Flood, the confusion at the Tower of Babel, and the death of Jesus Christ all took place on Friday.
All these are myths that have not been proven.
Specifically, the fear of Friday the 13th has been diagnosed a health problem called “friggatriskaidekaphobia”.
(According to the journal Answerbag, Frigga is the name of the goddess after whom Friday was named.)
Whether the day is significant of and in itself there have been a number of sad happenings that occurred on this day. One of them is the 1970 abortive launch of the Apollo 13 Mission.
It is said that it was launched on 1313 hours, from pad 39 (13 x 3), 3 of the sleeping arrangements for the astronauts were timed to start at 13 minutes past the hour and so was one of the possible splashdown.
On April 13th, the first of the several setbacks to
Apollo 13 occurred and this added drama to the mission.
One journal reports that in many hotels and skyscrapers, there is no 13th floor, while in most planes there are no seat No 13 nor are there operating rooms number 13 in some hospitals. In Italy, it is said, it is usual to leave out 13 in numbering the lottery ticket while in France there cannot be a party of thirteen for dinner.
If that is the case, it is said, the group has to hire a professional quatorzieme, a fourteenth person, from an agency.
And the superstition – or is it a reality – has come at a cost, too.
Dr Tyler Woods, writing in a health journal Emaxhealth in 2008, says, Friggatriskaidekaphobia costs Americans up to 800 million dollars from loss of work associated with the fear of Friday the 13th.
This is because many people are afraid to leave their homes therefore, people will not go out and spend money such as going to stores and purchasing food and other items.
“To complicate the matter,” he notes, “many refuse to go on trips costing the airlines millions because of this phobia.”
Dr Woods estimates that 25 million Americans suffer from this fear and will change their habits and practices on this day because this phobia.
On one hand, he notes, much research showed that fewer accidents and reports of fire and theft occur on this day because so many people are more careful.
He writes: “Other studies such as the study from The British Medical Journal published a research article on hospitalisations occurring from traffic accidents on Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th and found that the hospitalisations were up by 53 percent on 13th.
“However, if people believe something bad will happen on Friday the 13th, they suffer from anxiety and this affects their judgment and increases their chances of having an accident by 52 percent!”
He concludes that people need to shut out “thoughts that can create havoc in your life.”
He challenges people: “Join the millions of people who celebrate this day as luck, or join the other people who forget it is Friday the 13th and just enjoy another day on the planet.”