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Friday, August 17, 2012

Friday 17th - Venerdì il 17 - Per un po 'sfortunata - Unlucky for some



I mentioned in my post yesterday, about repeating posts. As I have written about this subject before, this post is almost as it appeared on News From Italy back in February as we had a Friday the 17th then as well!

Today in Italy is the equivalent of Friday the 13th in other parts of the world, unlucky if you are superstitious. Here in Italy the number 17 has the same unlucky significance that other places such as the UK and USA give to the number 13. To keep bad luck away some people carry a little golden horn as a charm or use the phrase “tocca ferro” “touching metal,” (preferably iron) the equivalent of our “touching wood”.

In fact the number 13 is considered lucky in Italy apart from one time when it is considered unlucky, which is to have thirteen persons at the meal table, but I remember this superstition from the UK also. This superstition goes back to the Last Supper of Jesus and the Apostles.

The number 17 is associated with bad luck in Italy because the Roman Numerals XVII are an anagram of the Latin word VIXI – ‘I Was Alive’ note the past tense! It can be used in the sense of saying “My life is over”

A Friday the 17th occurring in November, turns the whole month into the month of the deceased and is considered particularly unlucky. As November 2nd is memorial day for the dead in Italy.

I am not very observant in that I have never noticed if the Italians miss out the number 17 when numbering houses and flats, but I do know that Alitalia does not have a seat number 17 on its aircraft.

I will take special care today then and Tocca Ferro.

Have a good weekend everyone and if you are in Italy take special care today.

27 comments:

  1. I am pleased to see that you keep your lucky horse-shoe the right way up. Some people put it the other way round, and I always understood that doing it like that lets the luck fall out. The way you have it keeps the luck in!!!

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  2. I was going to say the same as Rosemary about the horseshoe.
    It's interesting to here about the beliefs in other countries. Take care :)

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  3. Interesting post.

    I read somewhere that in the UK car sales are expected to fall because people will want to avoid having the unlucky 13 on their number plate!

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  4. Hi you visited me and now here I am visiting you!! How interesting..... just shows how necessary it is to learn about the culture you visit. I spent quite a lot of time in India and there were so many different things there! Joan

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  5. Interesting! I guess every culture has their superstitions. Wishing you nothing but good luck today!

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  6. Oh yes, do be careful Lindy! Isn't it strange the way we pay attention to those old (or in your case rather new) superstitions even though we'd tell everybody we're not really superstitious, oh no not us!

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  7. Very interesting - I hadn't heard of that before. I hope you had a good and careful day :))

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  8. I remember the post about this earlier, I have to admit to have forgotten about it though :-)) Have a good weekend. Diane

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  9. Ahahahah!!! Lindy, vedo che ormai sai tutto sulle superstizioni italiane!
    Tocchiamo ancora ferro, però, perchè al giorno 18 manca ancora un'ora e mezza! ;)

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  10. Loved your post!
    Never heard about 17 being unlucky before!
    In France as in many countries it is 13!
    Thanks for sharing;o)

    ***
    Have a fabulous weekend****

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  11. I never knew about the number 17 being unlucky in Italy ... and that's the joy of blogging ....we find out these little interesting snippets from other corners of the world.
    Hoping you have a lovely week-end.

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  12. Fascinating! Especially about no seat Best of luck!

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  13. I did not know that 17 was considered an unlucky number in Italy. I guess each part of the world has its own superstitions. Best wishes to you on this unlucky Italian day.

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  14. My Italian husband has the golden horn charm on a necklace. My daughter was born on the 13th and I always said it's a good luck date for me!

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  15. I remember this post because all Italians I know are afraid (or not) of Friday 13 and not of 17 ! Not even my SIL. Maybe it's local ?

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  16. Fascinating tradition! Hope you had a lucky day yesterday.

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  17. Interesting post, and interesting comments, esp about no 17th row on the flights. Wimbledon doesn't have a Court 13.

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  18. Oh! I just love learning things like this! How neat! Thank you for sharing and for the explanations!

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  19. Fascinating. I love learning about superstitions from all over the world.

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  20. I'm so intrigued by the superstitions that develop in different countries, Linda. This is one I didn't know about. :-)

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  21. Thats so interesting - I wonder what numbers are considered lucky in italy? Hope you're enjoying your week Lindy!

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  22. I never heard of this...thanks for the new information!

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  23. That's interesting, I always like to read about superstitions and their origins. Thanks for the post.

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  24. Not being from your country I find this very interesting. You have provided a knowledgeable post for those of us from other countries.

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