Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-23
THE DAY OF BAD LUCK
MANY PERSONS sUPERSTITIoUS
REGARDING FRIDAY.
That Part Of the Week on Which the
Crucifxion Took
Place.


FROM the London Globe.
No superstition Is commoner OF moro
widely spread than the belief in the I'M
luckiness of Friday. which Is usually at
tributed to the fact that the crucifxion took
place on that day. and sometimes to the
character of Freya. the Scandinavian god
dess from whom the day takes its name.
A wilder explanation Is found In the legend
that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit
on Friday and died on a Friday. There
Is another side to the shield. however.
When Louis XIII of France lay dying on
Thursday, May IA, 1643, he summoned his
physicians. says his biograp her. and asked
them If they thought he would live till the
next day. and explaining that Friday had
always been his lucky day; that all the en-
terprises he had begun on that day had
proved successful: that he had been vic
torious in all battles fought on that day,
and that II was his fortunate day, In short
and on 1t he would wish to die The wish
was not granted, for the king died few
hours before the Friday dawned. Another
believer in Friday Count Jules An
Grassy who, when his daughter was mar
ried to Count Louis Batthyani. in June.
1882, insisted that the wedding should take
place on Friday, because, he said, all the
happy events OF his own life had taken
place on that day.
Good Day for Some.
But these instances of belief in the per-
sonal good fortune attaching to Friday are
but very slight set-off to the almost uni
yerSal feeling against the day. Although
Count Andrassy had found IT lucky. his fell
low-countrymen, the Magyars. have as
strong a belief as other folk In its ill-for-
tune On Friday they will begin no work OF
any Importance, for If they did 1t would
be foredoomed to failure: and some Hun
4 xxyf1 ut val hot low
They also have saying to the effect that
to be merry on Friday Is certain to mean
weeping on the Sunday. Other Magyar ideas
in this connection are that to sneeze the
first thing In the morning on a Friday,
when the stomach is empty, means some
great catastrophe and that a guest arrtv-
ing on that day means weeks distress.
There is popular prejudice. too. against I'M
dertaking various household tasks. such as
washing linen. kneadng dough. and light
ing fires for the first time. on the unlucky
day of the week. The superstitious feeling
Is shared by most of the European peoples.
and it sometimes shows itself in very odd
ways. Portuguese young lady, It Is re-
Ia ted. had ordered a harp from England,
but unfortunately IL arrived on Friday.
so she sent IL away till Saturday. though
she was dying to try itr' In Ireland FRI
day is one OF the GROSS days of the year.
and decidedly unlucky for removals. MI.
Edward Clodd has recorded that Mac
ciesfeld lodginghouse keeper. who had taken
a girl from the WOTknOuSe as I,
caught her cutting her fingernais one FRI
day. The Mortified mistress snatohed the
scissors from her, crying: lis that what
had you from the workhouse for; to cut
your nails on Friday and bring bad luck to
this housed" Hair-cutting on that day or
on Sunday is equally unlucky. A northern
folk-rhyme says:
Fridays hair and Sundays horn,
Yen meet the Mack Man on Monday mornI
or. as another version has It:
Friday cut and Sunday shorn,
Better never have been born.
Among Sailors.
But the belief In the iil-fortune associated
with the sixth day OF the week Is probably
best known IN connection with seafaring
men. Every one has heard Of the bold
owner who hrayed ths tsrrors Of the day
by having ship laid down and launched