Why is 13 lucky in Italy?

Question

someone told me 13 was lucky in italy and 7 or 17 was really unlucky

Answer 1

My favorite number is 13!! Go 13!!

Answer 2

I don't know, it depends if someones superstitious. Different numbers are Lucky to different cultures. Friday the thirteenth in second grade was when I got the whole classroom to join My cheese-itz club. And the teacher let us have folders to hold all our "cheese blue-prints." And I'm italian. Green is Lucky in Ireland. Seven is Lucky in America. It all depends on the culture.  

Answer 3

I think it really depends on where the person is from and if they believe in superstitions.  

Unlucky 13

The number thirteen has been regarded as an unlucky number as early as 1760 BC. Fear of the number 13 is termed triskaidekaphobia. The thirteenth of a month is likewise ominous, particularly when it falls on a Friday in some English-speaking cultures, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Belgium and Germany (see Friday the 13th) or a Tuesday in the Greek and Spanish-speaking world. Thirteen may be considered a "bad" or "unlucky" number simply because when a group of 13 objects or people is divided into two, three, four or six equal groups, there is always one leftover, or "unlucky", object or person. According to another interpretation, the number 13 is unlucky because it is the number of full moons in a contemporary year, but two full moons in a single calendar month (mistakenly referred to as a blue moon in a magazine article of the 1940s) only happens about every 5 years.

Early nursery rhymes stated there were thirteen months in a year because of the natural moon cycle that was used to count the lunar year. In England, a calendar of thirteen months of 28 days each, plus one extra day, known as "a year and a day" was still in use up to Tudor times.

It was suggested by Charles A. Platt writing in 1925 that the reason 13 is considered unlucky is that a person can count from 1–12 with their 8 fingers, two thumbs and 2 feet, but not beyond that, so the number 13 is unknown, hence frightening, hence unlucky.[1] This idea discounts the use of toes or other body parts in counting.

Another hypothesis about the origin of Friday the 13th as an unlucky day is attributed to this being the day that the Knights Templar were slaughtered in a collaboration between King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V finishing with the burning at the stake of Jacques De Molay.

The legion with which Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon was the Legio XIII Gemina or the 13th legion.

13 is the 6th prime number. 6 is sometimes considered an unlucky number due to its association with 666.

Lucky 13

In Sikhism, the number 13 is considered a special number since 13 is tera in Punjabi, which also means "yours" (as in, "I am yours, O Lord"). The legend goes that when Guru Nanak Dev was taking stock of items as part of his employment with a village merchant, he counted from 1 to 13 (in Punjabi) as one does normally; and thereafter he would just repeat "tera", since all items were God's creation. The merchant confronted Guru Nanak about this, but found everything to be in order after the inventory was checked. April 13 also usually turns out to be Vaisakhi every year, which is the Sikh New Year and the major Sikh Holiday.

Several successful athletes have worn the number 13. Alex Rodriguez is said to be one of the most talented baseball players ever; he has also signed the biggest sports contract and wears the number 13. Dan Marino, an American football player known for passing the 2nd most yards in NFL history, wore the number 13, although pundits in the sport have often cited him as the greatest quarterback never to win an NFL championship. Basketball great Wilt Chamberlain wore the number 13 on his jersey throughout his NBA career. Also, FIBA rules require a player to wear the number in international competitions (only numbers from 4 to 15 could be worn, and as there are 12 players, one must wear 13); Chris Mullin, who wore #20 in college and #17 in the NBA, wore #13 for both (1984 and 1992) of his Olympic appearances. Shaquille O'Neal wore #13 in 1996, Tim Duncan wore #13 in 2004, Steve Nash is currently wearing it for the Phoenix Suns, Yao Ming is currently wearing it in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and also Mats Sundin, wears 13 in the NHL. One of Iceland's all time best handball players, Sigurður Sveinsson, wore the number 13 when he played for the national team.

In Italy, 13 is also considered to be a lucky number.

Colgate University also considers 13 to be a lucky number. They were founded in 1817 by 13 men with 13 dollars, 13 prayers, and 13 articles. (To this day, members of the Colgate community consider the number 13 a good omen.) In fact, the campus address is 13 Oak Drive in Hamilton, NY and the all men a capella group is called the Colgate 13.

In tattoo culture, where symbols often represent the opposite of their most obvious meaning, 13 sometimes symbolizes good luck, especially in "old school" style tattoos.

Answer 4

I always thought my great-grandfather was kidding when he used to say number 13 was lucky. Apparently he was serious as the Italian concept of lucky and unlucky numbers is different from other parts of the world. Some older Italian Americans still hold the belief of lucky 13, especially when gambling, but it seems that in Italy the number 13 has started to have unlucky properties as well. The number 17 is considered unlucky for at least two reasons, both having to do with how it is written. When 17 is written using Roman numerals XVII, it can be rearranged to spell the Roman word VIXI meaning "I have lived" and was found on ancient tombstones. When written using Arabic numerals 17 are still considered unlucky since it resembles a man hanging from a gallows.

Answer 5

A further reason 13 is considered lucky is Totocalcio has been for 50 years (now not any more) the most popular betting game (along with Lotto): based of Italian football, people who manage to guess all 13 results won the largest part of the jackpot (12 won as well but lot less). The jackpot was used to be very high till the end of the 90s, so "fare 13" was in fact synonym of being *very* lucky.