Sweden’s unluckiest day for the next 35 years

There won't be another Friday the 13th and full moon combination until August 13th 2049. An extra reason to be careful, perhaps. 

 

Ethnologist Jonas Engman at the Nordiska Museum predicted, however, that there was nothing to worry about.

 

"We can quite safely say that nothing special will happen today," he told the TT news agency on Friday.

 

Engman's sentiments echo a comprehensive study by Trygg Hansa, which found that there are nearly 7 percent fewer accidents in Sweden on a Friday the 13th than on any other day of the year. 

 

Click here for our list of the top nine Swedish superstitions

 

But Sweden, often regarded as a forward-thinking and sensible country, is not shy of the odd superstition. At midsummer, for example, girls are told to collect seven separate species of flower to place under their pillow so they can dream of the man they will marry.

And the superstitions aren't just about good fortune and pillowcase pollen…

Indeed, Swedes have their own superstitions that are sometimes fiercely respected.

For example, do you know why you might see a Swede spitting three times on the street? Or what they're muttering as they knock on wood? Click here to find out.