Why is Friday the 13th so unlucky? Now that I’m thinking about it, should I really be writing about Friday the 13th superstitions on the day itself? I think it’s okay, but for safety purposes I’ll toss some salt over my left shoulder. Being superstitious is okay and for some it’s motivation, but even if you’re not superstitious in the great words of Michael Scott you might be a little-stitious! Get it? Okay the joke isn’t great, but I like to put a positive spin on things. Speaking of positive let’s celebrate Friday the 13th by taking a look at some fun, wacky and strange superstitions involving food!

Salt:

We touched on this a bit in our opening paragraph, but let’s explain it a bit more here. In folklore; spilling salt is widely considered bad luck and could bring evil upon you. Not to worry though! If this ever happens to you just simply take a pinch of salt with your right hand and throw it over your left shoulder! Not only does salt provide good seasoning it can also help keep evil at bay!

Garlic:

“I vant to suck your blood!” Yeah, vampires might be a bit of a reach here, but this superstition has some value to it especially when this Friday the 13th is so close to Halloween. Just hang a string of garlic around your neck and this will keep all evil creatures away. Who knows the smell will probably keep most people away to.

13 Dinner Guests:

13 dinner guests are unlucky and unacceptable. According to French tradition you must invite a 14th guest or only invite 12, but NEVER EVER invite 13 guests. This idea was so popular that Franklin Roosevelt would not allow 13 guests in his home or travel on the 13th day of the Month. This tradition has also been made into movies like “Thirteen at Dinner” and “The Thirteenth Guest”. So people, please be aware of your guest lists!

Do NOT cut the noodle:

It can be very tempting to break noodles in half to help fit inside a pot or have them cook faster, but if your superstitious please avoide cutting or breaking noodles in any way. Chinese culture believes that the length of the noodle represents how long you will live. Breaking a noodle might actually be taking years off your life!

It’s Friday the 13th in October. Tonight is the perfect night to sit back, relax and enjoy some of your favorite horror movies, but please be careful while salting your popcorn! Cheers!