What's Friday the 13th All About?

Meet the world's unluckiest lady. 

Gonna start researching more holidays and days of historical importance. I've asked myself 100 times what Friday the 13 was all about, but I finally looked it up. Like most rituals, this one has multiple theories. Here's what I found:

13 is unlucky for two main reasons, both focused around dinner parties.  12 Norse Gods threw a big dinner up in Valhalla once and Loki, God of Mischief, crashed it, played some pranks and got one of the Gods killed in the aftermath. Loki was the 13th guest. Also, The Last Supper had 13 guests, Judas being the 13th. (What does that mean, he was the last to be invited? He arrived late? He didn't RSVP?) Ever since then 13's been bad news.

Friday is also based in Biblical subtext. Theologians believe Christ was crucified on a Friday, the Great Flood started on a Friday, and even Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit on a Friday.

That theory has been heavily contested. Some believe that it's part of a Church plot to suppress and undermine women's role in the church. Apparently Friday was originally devoted to Venus, the god of Love. It gets its name from the Norse god Frigg, god of Love and Sex. So to downplay this ode to strong hardworking lady-gods, the Church made all the bad stuff in history happen on Fridays.

Other interesting things I found out:

According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute, an estimated 900 million dollars is lost to businesses on Friday the 13th because of people refusing to fly, shop, or do business due to superstition.

Triskaidekaphobia is the irrational fear of Friday the 13. Yes, it has it's own name, and it's estimated that 8% of the country suffers from it. Symptoms range from panic attacks to full blown breakdowns, causing people to reschedule or cancel their plans for the whole day.

Here's my favorite fact: A quatorzieme is a French term for a party guest for hire. If you're throwing a party and only have 13 guests, you can hire a quatorzieme to be your 14th and avoid all potential disasters.

So the real question is, how do I become a professional party guest?