The idea that certain calendar dates are lucky or unlucky is of ancient origin, going back as far as the
Mesopotamian civilizations. Tables that identify lucky and unlucky days are sometimes known by their German category name Tagwählerei.
The
Coligny calendar identifies certain calendar dates as lucky (mat) or unlucky (anmat).
The
Roman calendar marks many days and parts of others as dies nefasti, religiously unsuitable for the conduct of public business.[2]
Contemporary North America has a tradition that
Friday the 13th is an unlucky day. It has been called a "pervasive form of divination" that "is found in all [current] societies which regulate their days and nights in [the conventional modern] calendric systems".[3]: 133
The received idea concerning the origin of Tycho Brahe days was that
"Tycho Brahe, the celebrated Danish astronomer of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was very superstitious, considering certain days in the year pregnant with misfortune, wherefore in Denmark, up to this very day, the laboring class call such days on which they happen to meet with some unfortunate accident, Tycho Brahe's days."[4]
In his travelogue A Poet's Bazaar,[5]Hans Christian Andersen alludes to Tycho Brahe's death while living in exile, in Prague, observing that
"Denmark owns not even his dust; but the Danes mention his name in their bad times, as if a denunciation proceeded out of it: These are 'Tycho Brahe's days!' they say."[5]
However, no mention of the days now called Tycho Brahe days is actually found in any work of Tycho Brahe.[6]
They nevertheless are often referenced in
almanacs and recur in Scandinavian folklore. In the
Cyprianus tradition, Tycho Brahe days are considered unlucky for magical work; several of the spells in the Black Books of Elverum note that they should not be carried out on a Tycho Brahe day.[7][8]
These days were supposed to be unlucky to perform tasks such as getting married, starting a journey, or to fall ill on.[9] Some versions claim that Tycho Brahe also identified several days as particularly lucky:
Some lists omit certain days, or add others; there is no standard list. Denmark was on the
Julian calendar until 1700, when it switched to the
Gregorian calendar.[12]
^
Smith, William (1875).
"'Dies'". A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. John Murray. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
^
Koch, Ulla Suzanne (26–30 July 2010).
"Concepts and perception of time in Mesopotamian divination". In Feliu, L.; Llop, J.; Millet Albà, A.; sanMartín, J. (eds.). Time and History in the Ancient Near East. The 56th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale proceedings. Barcelona, ES: Penn State University Press (published 2013). pp. 127–142.
doi:
10.5325/j.ctv1bxgzf2.17.
JSTOR10.5325/j.ctv1bxgzf2.
Koch, Ulla. "free copy". Retrieved October 14, 2012 – via academia.edu.
^Rustad, Mary (1999). The Black Books of Elverum. Galde Press. pp. 49, 116–117.
ISBN1-880090-75-9.
^
Stokker, Kathleen (2007). Remedies and Rituals: Folk medicine in Norway and the New Land. Minnesota Historical Society. p. 79.
ISBN978-0-87351-576-4.