No.71 Friday, 13th. February 2026

In starting to write in my diary this morning I came to realise that it is Friday the thirteenth. I thought to myself ‘it is Friday the 13th.’ as if this is somehow significant. I would not pause for thought and think, ‘my goodness, it’s Wednesday the 10th today’. Why is that?

Friday is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty, Venus, hence the French vendredi. Here in northern Europe the Norse peoples stuck to the Roman idea but opted for the closest Norse equivalent – Frigg  or Freyja – eventually morphing into Friday in modern English.

The Norse regarded Friday to be the luckiest day of the week – and the best day for a wedding. Christians believed it to be the unluckiest as they believed it to be the day of the crucifixion. It is the Muslim sabbath as they believe Adam was created on a Friday, and furthermore that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit on a Friday – and they died on a Friday.

In Britain Friday was a good day to be born – ‘Friday’s child is loving and giving’ – but also a good day to die – if you were convicted of a crime: ‘hanging Friday’ as it was known. A good day to execute criminals!

Since this is a non-leap year and Friday the thirteenth falls in February, we have two more such days to look forward to, in March and November. Being a fan of horror films I shall, of course, be watching something befitting of the occasion on my cinema system this evening, with all the mood lighting set to blood red. Care to join me?