Friday the 13th - supposedly unlucky, but not in Spain where the unlucky day is Tuesday the 13th: martes y trece. Friday the 13th is considered unlucky, I am told, because of Christ being crucified on Good Friday. Tuesday/martes has connections with the god of war. I think thirteen is unlucky because of Judas, the thirteenth disciple, the one who betrayed Christ. Tuesday is a bad day all round in Spain. There is an old saying “En martes ni te cases, ni te embarques, ni de tu casa te apartes.” In English, this translates as “On Tuesday, don’t marry, don’t start a journey nor leave your house.”, adding to the thought that Tuesdays aren’t always the best day! And for the really superstitious there’s actually a real phobia called ‘Trezidavomartiofobia’ (fear of Tuesday 13th), causing an uncontrollable fear of leaving the house and coming into contact with others!
A friend of mine has her birthday today - fortunately she is not superstitious, at least as far as I know. Having your birthday on the 13th must be hard on the superstitious because it must fall on a Friday, or a Tuesday, at regular intervals.
As well as being Friday the 13th, today is Whit Friday, the closest we have to a fiesta around here. There are Sunday School “walks” in the morning, with Sunday School banners and the local brass band.
In the afternoon and evening there is the Band Contest, with brass bands from all over the country, in some cases from other countries, move from Saddleworth village to Saddleworth village, marching into each village in formation, playing as they march, and then playing a designated piece in a designated spot to be awarded points. And, of course, points mean prizes, or trophies! People came from far and wide to see and hear the bands, and to drink beer and eat street food!
So far Friday the 13th has been fine and dry and warm and occasionally sunny. As a rule Whit Friday is damp and cold. Fingers crossed that the bad luck remains at bay.
I don’t usually see the Sunday School walks. As a rule I am home from my run and having breakfast by the time they go through the village. Today, however, I stopped by one of the mill ponds and had a long chat with a nodding acquaintance who is almost a friend by now. (He always remembers my name but I have completely forgotten his and pretty soon must cross that embarrassment threshold and ask him to remind me.) As a result, when I got to the village centre the Whit Walks were just setting off.
Looking back to my childhood, we did Whit Walks on Whit Sunday. All the little girls were dressed in white - a white pleated skirt for your Sunday best clothes - and all the little boys wore a tie and had had their hair neatly combed. There were enough boys and girls to merit ropes decorated with paper flowers, to keep us in line in our pairs. Today’s Walk in our village seemed rather short on children, it seemed to me, and those who were there were very casually dressed.
The band, on the other hand, was very smart!
So, Friday the 13th! Not a very auspicious day for world news. Overnight Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities. Where do we go from here? We need al the good luck we can get.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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