Why 13 is a Lovely Number
Much have been said about the number 13. It has many associations to various historical, theological, and superstitious beliefs that more often than not resulted to irrational fear.
In Christian history, it is believed that Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th person to sit at the table for the Last Supper. For most laymen, 13 is a plain, old unlucky number. Triskaidekaphobia, the irrational fear of the number 13, is a common source of various negative beliefs and practices about the number. We can trace this to ancient historical data: in the Code of Hammurabi, 13 is omitted from the list; and in the Persian calendar, the 13th day in the calendar is believed to bring bad luck. From this fear resulted the practice of omitting the number 13 when assigning numbers to building floors, streets, airport terminals, and other public spaces. The fear of Friday the 13th, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia, has also been a widespread result of this belief.
Despite all these, 13 has not always been hailed as bringing bad luck. In other ancient practices, 13 was considered a positive number. Sikhism believes that 13 is a very lucky number. In Punjabi, 13 is translated as tera, which also means ‘yours’ (or I am yours, oh Lord). Science also has a different relationship with 13. Mathematics, in particular, gives us fascinating interpretations for 13: it is a Wilson prime; a part of the Fibonacci sequence as a Markov number; a star number; and (get this), a happy number. Incredibly, Archimedes gave us 13 solids that are highly symmetric and identical in vertices. Abaker’s dozen, which contains 13 pieces, is another positive concept of 13.
As for me, 13 has never been an unlucky number. In fact, right now, 13 has just gotten luckier. Today marks the 13th month that I have been with my boyfriend. As a couple, we have just qualified for a baker’s dozen, discredited triskaidekaphobia, unknowingly affirmed a belief in Sikhism, and made Archimedes even prouder. Yes, it has been 13 months since we have officially left our past and entered into sweet oblivion together. It has been 13 months of our ups and downs, but the best part? It has been 13 months of bliss. And boy, don’t I feel lucky. 
