NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It may not be the scariest day of the year, but for superstitious people, Friday the 13th is a day that keeps them on their toes. One place proves it doesn’t have to be bad luck at all.
I wanted to know. Why do we believe Friday the 13th is such an unlucky day? So I turned to the experts: random people walking around downtown Nashville.
Check out all the opinions about this day and see a lucky cat in the player above.
“Why do we think that?” a mother and her children thought out loud.
“Because it’s superstition!” one of her children interjected.
“Maybe Friday is a good day, but 13 is a bad number,” said the mother. “I don’t know!”
“We don’t really know,” smiled a man visiting Nashville. “It doesn’t bother me at all!”
“13 is my lucky number!” said one woman.
“But my brother is getting married on Friday the 13th and that might not bring good luck!” a man added to her.
The idea that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day has been around for a long time, much longer than a series of films about a madman running around in the woods.
I asked Sara Whittemore of the Nashville Humane Association.
“Friday the 13th became an unlucky day because it was on this day in 1307 that the Knights Templar were said to have fallen,” she said, citing one theory.
“Random facts that stick in your memory from elementary school!” laughed Sara.
Nashville Humane took the superstitions of the time to heart. Only on Friday the 13th did they offer half-price adoptions of black-furred animals.
“Even if they’re just a little bit black, we qualify them because they’ve been patiently waiting for their forever homes,” Sara said. “Our little black fur babies are often overlooked. They tend to disappear into the shelter simply because of their fur color. We decided to play Friday the 13th and put a fun twist on it. They’ll find their forever homes today!”
“I just saw his face and his energy and immediately fell in love with him!” said Lane Kavanaugh when he came to adopt the black furry dog Franklin.
“You’re great, aren’t you?” Lane asked, patting Franklin on the shoulder.
What a happy, happy day.
If you missed the Friday the 13th adoption event, don’t worry, Nashville Humane has many upcoming events that you can find here.
Do you have some positive, good news? You can email me at [email protected].
Remembering Eudora Boxley, a groundbreaking TV chef from the early days of WLAC
Forrest Sanders recently introduced us to a Nashville heroine named Eudora Boxley. She was the first black woman to have a television cooking show in Nashville. Her grandson fondly described Eudora and how she raised him and how proud he and the family were of her impact not only on WLAC but on a city during the turbulent civil rights movement. A woman who did extraordinary things at a time when history did not expect her to.
-Amy Watson
