Friday The 13th New Year!

We start the year with a Friday the 13th in January! Curious to know what other events are being celebrated on January 13, I did some quick research and found a couple of events that could pair well with Friday the 13th.

Blame it on Friday the 13th:
National Blame Someone Else Day is observed on the first Friday the 13th of the year. Isn’t this the essence of Friday the 13th? If something goes wrong on this day blame someone or something else.

In fact, the inspiration for National Blame Someone Else Day is Anne Moelle from Clio, Michigan who appears to have done just that. The story goes that on the first Friday the 13th in 1982, Anne’s clock alarm didn’t go off which set in motion a day filled with late appointments. She spent the day making excuses and shifting the blame for being late. Her unlucky day supposedly inspired her to create this unofficial holiday.

The origins of this unusual observance are shrouded in mystery. Is the story true? Could it be that Anne is being blamed for creating a holiday that she didn’t create? Is Anne in fact a scapegoat used to mark a day on which people blame others for their troubles? That would be ironic! However, I’m not particularly inspired by a day dedicated to blaming others (even on Friday the 13th) so I’ve selected a couple of other January 13 special days to celebrate and added a Friday the 13th tweak.

Fun Ways To Celebrate:
Writing or reading dark and Gothic poetry would be perfect for Poetry Break Day, or you could wish for auspicious dreams to help Make Your Dream Come True this night, hoping that they don’t turn into nightmares! Speaking of nightmares, Mari Lwyd, a horse that comes back from the dead, is part of Welsh New Year festivities which are celebrated on January 13.

Another interesting event is Quitters Day which is celebrated on the second Friday in January and is dedicated to all those who have made New Year’s resolutions but failed to keep up with them. Research suggests that about 80% of people abandon their resolutions within two weeks of making them. So if you made your resolutions two weeks ago and have already forsaken them, Happy Quitters Day! As for me, I’ll be celebrating Friday the 13th by making New Year’s resolutions with a skeletal horse. I’ll probably be celebrating a belated Quitters Day in two weeks time. 🙂

Happy Friday the 13th!

Fortunate Misfortune

My favourite gothic store, Beserk, often adds little surprises in your parcel when you order online. When I opened my latest package, I was rapt to find a Fortune Cookie among my ghoulish purchases.

At first I assumed it was a black Misfortune Cookie from Pechkeks, which come individually or in a box of 13. As this Friday is Friday the 13th, I thought it would be a fortuitous day to open a Misfortune Cookie.

My only worry was that my cookie was purple and not black. As I took a closer look, I realised it wasn’t a Misfortune Cookie but actually a Beserk Halloween Fortune Cookie. I was momentarily disappointed as I was looking forward to seeing what my misfortunate message would be.

My happiness returned when I realised that a Halloween Fortune Cookie could also contain a misfortunate message! With a sense of excitement and some dread, I cracked open my Fortune Cookie on the morning of Friday the 13th. 

Let the Haunting begin!

The perfect drink to have with one of these cookies is a strong cup of Turkish coffee. You’ll find my recipe for Turkish coffee, and tips on how to read your coffee cup, on my previous post Cold Nights And Warm Fortunes.

A Day To Love And Fear

This Friday is the last Friday the 13th for 2019!

Friday the 13th occurs at least once every year with some years having two or three occurrences. A month that begins on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th.

While some of us celebrate this day, many fear it. The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia. The word combines Frigga, the Norse Goddess of Friday, with triskaidekaphobia, the Greek word for the fear of the number 13. The two fears combined in friggatriskaidekaphobia are the belief that the number 13 and the day Friday are both unlucky. 

 

 

For me, Friday the 13th is a lucky day, as Friday is associated with love. The Norse named Friday after Frigg, a Goddess of Love, and the Romans called Friday dies veneris in honour of Venus, another Goddess of Love. Friday is associated with the planet Venus and the star signs Taurus and Libra. As a Taurus, Friday has an extra special connection to me. The number 13 also resonates with me as it is associated with lunar cycles, death and rebirth. The Death card in tarot is the number 13 and symbolises the ending of one cycle and the beginning of a new one.

As this Friday the 13th falls so close to the end of the year, it is a great time to reflect on the past year and to make plans for the new year. 

 

So rather than fear this coming Friday, why not grab a drink and have an early New Year’s Eve celebration!

Nothing To Fear Here

Friday the 13th is nearly here, and while some of us celebrate this day, many fear it. In Melbourne, this Friday the 13th also coincides with a Dark Moon. As some people also fear the moon, this may indeed be a very scary time for that unfortunate few.

The word phobia is derived from phobos, the Greek word for fear. Add it to the end of a word and you have a term for the fear of something.

A fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia. The word combines Frigga, the Norse Goddess of Friday, with triskaidekaphobia, the Greek word for the fear of the number 13.

the dracula tarot

A fear of the moon is called lunaphobia, derived from “luna”, the Latin word for moon. It is also called selenophobia, derived from “seleno”, the Greek word for moon. Luna and Selene are also the names of the Roman and Greek Goddesses of the Moon.

snake on a beach

If you aren’t terrified yet, Monday the 16th might tip you over the edge as July 16th is World Snake Day! The day was created to help people learn about snakes, understand their role in our world, and hopefully combat some of the fears associated with them. The fear of snakes is called ophidiophobia, derived from “ophis” the Greek word for snake.

snuggling with pythons

I was born in the Year of the Snake and have always felt connected to them. I love touching non-venomous snakes and don’t mind having a python draped around me. When I tell people I don’t have a fear of snakes, I mean I don’t have a phobia or irrational fear of them. But having grown up in Australia, I do have a rational fear of snakes. We are home to some of the world’s most venomous snakes. Being alert around snakes is ingrained in us. Having encountered a few of these deadly creatures in the wild, and in my backyard, I can tell you the first thing that runs through me is fear! Happily the next feeling that runs through me is fascination. I love watching them from a safe distance, keeping my eye on their movements as they slither back into the wild or the snake catcher comes to collect them. So while I do have a respectful fear of snakes, I don’t have an irrational fear of them.

Do you suffer from any of these phobias or will you be celebrating Friday the 13th, the Dark Moon and World Snake Day free from fear?

A Halloween Baker’s Dozen

For my Halloween pumpkin donuts I adapted a recipe for cinnamon cake donuts to include pumpkin puree. By adding pumpkin puree and increasing the amount of flour, I knew that my original recipe for 12 donuts would now make more. What to do with the extra batter? I hate just throwing things out so I thought of piping extra donuts onto baking paper and seeing what happened. Then it hit me – I could do a baker’s dozen. Not a conventional baker’s dozen but a quirky version that would produce 12 pumpkin donuts and one large pumpkin cupcake!

The term a “baker’s dozen” is commonly used in reference to a group of 13. As the name suggests, the origin of this term comes from the world of baking. Bread has alway been an important product and since ancient times there have been some bakers who have tried to cheat their customers. Consequently there were heavy punishments for those who were caught. In a bid to avoid accidentally selling underweight goods, bakers would often add an extra loaf or loaves free of charge. A baker’s dozen specifically relates to the buying of 12 items that are the same and receiving an extra 13th one for free.

What does the number 13 have to do with Halloween? Well Halloween is celebrated on October 31 which is 13 reversed! Most appropriately, both days are related to the Death tarot card which is number 13. If you celebrate Halloween in the southern hemisphere the date is the 30th of April so it’s not linked to either Friday the 13th or the Death card. However, the number 3 is linked to the concept of Birth, Life, Death so there’s still a deathly link to both Halloweens. And I’m happy about that as I celebrate both of them!

I would like to thank fellow blogger Christine for getting my creative juices flowing with her post Fun on Friday the 13th. Her post reminded me of the link between Friday the 13th and Halloween and inspired me to make my pumpkin baker’s dozen 🙂

Pumpkin Donuts

Special Equipment
12 hole non-stick mini donut pan
1 silicone jumbo sized muffin liner (you could use a similar sized ramekin or mug lined with baking paper)

Ingredients
For the donuts
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup (70g) unsalted butter, melted
1 + 1/2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup caster sugar

For the cinnamon topping
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup (70g) unsalted butter, melted

Instructions
Preheat oven to 170C / 340F.
In a small bowl mix together the milk, egg, vanilla, pumpkin puree and melted butter, set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Stir to combine.
Make a well in the centre.
Pour in the wet ingredients and, using a wooden spoon, mix until smooth.
Spoon the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.
Pipe mixture into donut pan filling each donut to just below the halfway mark. (Keep the remaining batter for the cupcake.)
Bake donuts for 10 – 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes.
While donuts are cooling, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Dunk donuts in melted butter then roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.
You can eat them warm or cold.

Pumpkin Cupcake

Instructions
Once donuts are baked, increase oven temperature to 180C / 350F.
Pour remaining batter into muffin liner.
Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Pumpkin Frosting
Ingredients
60g (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
60g (1/4 cup) cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon icing sugar

Instructions
Beat together the butter and cream cheese.
Beat in the pumpkin until combined.
Stir in the sugar.
Taste for sweetness and add more sugar if desired.
Pipe onto cupcake.

If there is any left over frosting you can dollop some on the donuts or just eat it with a spoon.

Days Of Bears And Fears

Wednesday October the 11th is Bring Your Teddy Bear To Work Or School Day. Observed on the second Wednesday in October, this curious day is a day to celebrate the importance of teddy bears in our lives. Will you be bringing a teddy bear to work or school on Wednesday?

As I work from home I don’t have to worry about being stared at if I bring a teddy bear to work. In fact my home is already filled with panda bears so it’s business as usual here! Sometimes I like to have a break from the computer so instead of taking a panda bear on my break I thought I would take one of my rare teddy bears for an outing. Here is Ursa, named for the Latin word for bear, enjoying Bring Your Teddy Bear On Your Break From Work Day.

Ursa loves riding camels. Coffee after camels. The music of the night.

And what did my panda bears get up to while I was away? Well they were getting ready for
Friday the 13th, one of their favourite days of the year. This will be the last Friday the 13th for 2017.

Happy Friday the 13th!

A fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia.
The name is a combination of Frigga, the Norse Goddess for Friday, with triskaidekaphobia, the Greek word for the fear of the number 13. Triskaidekaphobia combines the words tris meaning 3, kai meaning and, deka meaning 10 with phobia meaning fear.
An alternate term, paraskevidekatriaphobia, was used by an American psychotherapist in the 1990s. It is a Greek word combining paraskevi meaning Friday with dekatria meaning 13 also ending with phobia for fear.
As I don’t like Goddesses being replaced, I’ll continue using the term friggatriskaidekaphobia!

To find out more about Friday the 13th, check out my previous posts: Friday On My Mind / Bad Moon On The Rise and Deathly Delights For Friday the 13th 🙂

Deathly Delights For Friday the 13th

It’s Friday the 13th again and for some the day is seen as unlucky, for others it means nothing, and for people like me it’s a time to dip into mythology and try out a few recipes!

13 is sometimes considered the Devil’s number, but in a tarot deck the Devil card is actually 15. It is the Death card that is number 13. Ancient Egyptians believed there were 12 stages of life and the 13th stage was death and transformation in the afterlife. For them, 13 was a lucky number. The number 12 is often associated with completion, so it makes sense that the number 13 can symbolise death and rebirth into a new cycle. This is part of the Death card’s meaning – transformation and renewal.

The Dracula Tarot

One of the key symbols in the Death card is the white rose. White roses epitomise purity, humility, reverence and innocence. They symbolise new beginnings and are therefore popular at both weddings and funerals.

For this Friday the 13th, I thought I would play around with the rose from the tarot Death card and the dessert called Death by Chocolate. There are so many ways this could have gone, but I really felt like a nurturing milk drink. I concocted two Death by Chocolate Delights – because I really couldn’t choose between them 🙂

Rose Water Iced Chocolate

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon rose water (or to taste)
1 scoop chocolate ice cream

Instructions
Place the milk and rose water in a glass and stir until combined. Add the chocolate ice cream.

Chocolate and Rose Water Milkshake

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon rose water (or to taste)
3 scoops chocolate ice cream

Instructions
Add the milk, rose water and ice cream to a blender or milkshake maker. Blend until smooth.

Friday On My Mind / Bad Moon On The Rise

This Friday is Friday the 13th. It’s a very special Friday the 13th because it falls on a Full Moon. On a mythic, spiritual and magical level, this Friday the 13th links us to three powerful archetypes:

• The meaning of Friday
• The number 13
• The power of the Moon

The Romans called Friday dies veneris in honour of Venus, the Goddess of Love. The Norse then named Friday after their Goddess of Love, Frigg. So why would a day named after Goddesses of Love be considered unlucky? There is no real answer except that Friday has been considered an unlucky day by many cultures and for quite a long time. More recently, Friday has become associated with bad luck because it is the day Jesus was crucified.

The fear of the number 13 has been around since at least the time of the ancient Babylonians. Again, why is this so? 12 is seen as a number of completion whereas 13 has been seen as the number that comes along and disrupts or corrupts this. The Norse myth of Balder, a version of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and the Last Supper are stories that feature a dinner with 13 guests – invited or uninvited, and the dire consequences of these events. 13 at a dinner is still considered unlucky. 13 was thought to be the traditional number of witches in a coven; a perversion of Jesus and his 12 disciples. There are also 13 full moons in a year which challenges the 12 months of the year system.

Of course you could look at 13 as the beginning of a new cycle like the Egyptians did. 13 was a lucky number in ancient Egypt as they believed there were 12 stages of life and the 13th stage was death and transformation in the afterlife. This wasn’t anything to be feared but was part of a natural cycle to be celebrated. Interestingly the tarot Death card is the number 13.

So what do you get when you put the fear of Friday together with the fear of the number 13? Friggatriskaidekaphobia, a word that combines the name of Friday’s Goddess Frigg with triskaidekaphobia, the fear of the number 13. Add a full moon and this fearful day grows to mythic proportions.

The light of the silvery moon has been celebrated as a romantic emblem; a time for love to blossom and lovers to meet. A full moon on a day named after a love Goddess and on a number that symbolises rebirth and new cycles should be a romantic time. But that bright, shining orb changes monthly and goes from bright and beautiful to dark and hidden. Consequently this mysterious entity is also associated with fear, madness and lunacy. A full moon is believed to bring out the worst in everyone. And, as horror movies have shown, brings out the worst monsters – particularly werewolves and vampires.

If we put this all together we can see that Friday was named after a Roman Goddess of Love and is now named after a Norse Goddess of Love and that the number 13 is associated with the moon, women and the cycle of life, death and rebirth. So perhaps the fear being exploited on Friday the 13th is a fear of ancient pagan religions which celebrate, love, life, death, the moon and women. Rather than fear this day, maybe we should reflect upon its deeper meanings.

So go out and celebrate this Full Moon Friday the 13th. There won’t be another until August, 2049.

let the madness begin