Friday the 13th! A joyous 'Bhai Dooj' for India, but a 'haunted' day for the West

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Friday the 13th! A joyous 'Bhai Dooj' for India, but a 'haunted' day for the WestCall it irony but India’s famous Hindu festival of love 'Bhau Beej' also called 'Bhai Dooj' has surprizingly coincided with Friday the 13th this year, what the West considers to be the most unlucky day of the year!
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Also known as Black Friday, it is more than just a date. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian (Christian) calendar falls on a Friday. The superstition around this day is thought to have come about during the middle ages. Some historians have claimed it was the day on which Eve bit the apple from the Tree of Knowledge. Others say Jesus was crucified on a Friday and ever since the day has been associated with general ill omen. Most years have just one or two Friday the 13ths. However interestingly, this year has seen three in total in the months of February, March and the last being today.

Today’s Friday the 13th is also the fifth and last day of festival of lights – Diwali - which falls on a new moon night and is celebrated by Hindus across the world as ‘Bhai Dooj’. The occasion sees sisters ceremonize their love by putting an auspicious tilak or a vermilion mark on the forehead of their brothers and perform an aarti by showing him the light of the holy flame as a mark of love and protection from evil forces.

It is believed that on this day, Lord Krishna went to his sister Subhadra after slaying the Narakasura demon, who welcomed him with a holy lamp, flowers and sweets and put the holy protective spot on his forehead. Yet another belief behind the origin of Bhai Dooj is that when Mahavir, the founder of Jainism, attained moksha, his brother King Nandivardhan was distressed because he missed him and was comforted by his sister Sudarshana. Since then, women have been revered during Bhai Dooj as it is called in Northern India, Bhai Pota in West Bengal, Bhai Tika in Nepal.

Both the significant events are rooted in historical beliefs, the stark difference being while one is a joyous day for brothers and sisters in one part of the world, it’s a haunted day where everything is meant to go wrong for the other. Notably, yhe next February, March and November Friday the 13th year will occur 11 years later in 2026. As India wishes each other a joyous Bhai Dooj 2015, here are some interesting tweets showing how our foreign brothers and sisters are cautioning each other to stay indoors on this ‘doomed’ day:
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