Yesterday Was Anxious Day For The Superstitious
, Friday the thirteenth, which fell yesterday, was an anxious day for the superstitious. The r.eason fpr the suppoSed unlucky characlter of thc number 13 is obscure, but it has long been recognised among the superstitious. For many years, Friday has been regarded as an unlucky day, and the combination of Friday and- the thirteenth day in Ihe month is enough for the superstitious to dub it "Black Friday." But "Black Friday" derived- its name not bnly for that reason but also from religipus, criminal and commercial. reasons. also. Friday was Ihe- day of the Crucifixion of Chr'ist, and the name also arose frojn the use of black vestments by the ciergy, and on altars, in Roman Catholic Ghurches pn. Good .Friday-, . ^rijday is ?al^d"*Ihb day of Adam's creation and is kept by the Mohammedans as the we'ekly day of prayer. It was long known as "Hangman's Day," being the customary day for hangings in England. Ano.ther derivation of1 the term "Black Friday" aris'es from a great commercial paniC, which reached its height on Friday, May 11, 1866. On Friday, November 21, 1890, there was. a temporary panic pro'duced by the financial embarrassment of Messrs. Baring Brothers, a London firm. In later years, however, "Black Friday" has come to mean Friday the thirteenth.. The worries of the superstitious will not be over after yesterday, as August 13 is a Friday.
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Chronicle (Levin), 14 February 1948, Page 4
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236Yesterday Was Anxious Day For The Superstitious Chronicle (Levin), 14 February 1948, Page 4
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