很多人都知道,在西方國家13是個不吉利的數(shù)字。有很多樓層、門牌號都會直接跳過13,12之后直接是14,或是用12A代替13表示。那么為什么13是個不吉的數(shù)字呢?原因有很多種:
1. 最后的晚餐中的13門徒
Some Christian traditions have it that at the Last Supper, Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table.
傳說耶穌受害前和弟子們共進了一次晚餐。參加晚餐的第13個人是耶酥的弟子猶太。就是這個猶大為了30塊銀元,把耶穌出賣給猶太教當局,致使耶穌受盡折磨。參加最后晚餐的是13個人,晚餐的日期恰逢13日,“13”給耶穌帶來苦難和不幸。從此,“13”被認為是不幸的象征。“13”是背叛和出賣的同義詞。
2. 北歐火神洛基的傳說
Triskaidekaphobia may have also affected the Vikings-it is believed that Loki in the Norse pantheon was the 13th god. More specifically, Loki was believed to have engineered the murder of Balder, and was the 13th guest to arrive at the funeral. This is perhaps related to the superstition that if thirteen people gather, one of them will die in the following year.
在北歐神話中,火神洛基(Loki)是諸神中的第13位,他本身邪惡而狡詐。他欺騙并唆使黑暗盲神Hoder害死了自己的兄弟、光明之神Balder,又稱為葬禮上的第13位吊唁者。此后西方就有迷信:如果葬禮中有13個人出席,那么其中一人會在第二年死去。
3. 波斯黃道十二宮的傳說
Ancient Persians believed the twelve constellations in the Zodiac controlled the months of the year, and each ruled the earth for a thousand years at the end of which the sky and earth collapsed in chaos. Therefore, the thirteenth is identified with chaos and the reason Persians leave their houses to avoid bad luck on the thirteenth day of the Persian Calendar, a tradition called Sizdah Bedar.
古代的波斯人相信天空中的黃道十二星座掌控著一年的十二個月,而每個星座會統(tǒng)治地球一千年。等到十二個輪回結束,天空和大地就會崩塌。因此,第十三就和混亂聯(lián)系了起來。波斯人在波斯歷上的第十三天會外出、以避免厄運,這個傳統(tǒng)被稱為“Sizdah Bedar”,意思是“十三戶外”。
除此以外,不吉利的13還有很多傳聞,包括漢莫拉比法典(code of Hummurabi)的第13條法規(guī)、十字軍東征時的13圓桌騎士以及Friday the 13th十三號星期五等等。不過,也不是所有基督教傳統(tǒng)的國家都認為13是不吉利的,在某些基督教祭典中還有13信條的儀式:
However, the number 13 is not uniformly bad in the Judeo-Christian tradition. For example, the 13 attributes of God (also called the thirteen attributes of mercy) are enumerated in the Torah. Some modern Christian churches also use 13 attributes of God in sermons.