Will Harry Potter have a magical date with Friday the 13th?

This Friday the 13th will be full of curses, spells, witchcraft and magic. Relax Muggles, we aren’t getting superstitious here.

While for some, Friday would be a day to steer clear of anything deemed unlucky, for many Harry Potter fans, it’s a day to rejoice.

But will Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix - that hits theatres worldwide on a date deemed ominous – be able to work its magic on the box office and send cash registers ringing?

The movie opened to packed houses across metros despite it being a Friday. Therefore, so far the going has been good.

Freaky Friday?

Though not a very big marketing event in India unlike the West, lounges and restaurants have started organising events in big cities like Delhi and Bangalore with the theme of dark forces, curses and wicked tracks.

Private parties are also being planned.

”The Gen X does not believe in old myths. And to break away from that, partying is the best option," she says Sushmita Mani of 3rd Eye Promotions.

"While the day is a big marketing event in the west, in India, partying around the day has still not caught the fancy of people. They are very superstitious." says image manager Ranjan.

"Many successful Hollywood movies have been made around the theme, though Bollywood has not experimented with it as yet," he says.

An international survey shows that more than half of people who considered themselves unlucky dread the number, as opposed to just 22 per cent who consider themselves lucky.

According to estimates, worldwide $800-900 miilion is lost in business on this day because people do not fly or do work they would do on a normal day.

However, psychiatrist Samir Parikh says, "People want to play it safe and so we believe in such things. Centuries back some unfortunate incident may have happened on this day, which passed down the generations through word of mouth. So believing in it becomes a ritual."

"And if by chance, something wrong happens on that day to us, we search for reasons and co-relate it to that," he says.

Astrologer Ajay Bhambi says some or the other 'unfortunate' events would have happened on every day of the year. "So why brand Friday, the 13th as unlucky? The day has no significance in Indian astrology."

Agrees tarot and coffee cup reader Poonam Sethi, "According to numerology, number 13 is very lucky because the sum adds up to four. Every day is lucky. A time to celebrate."

One theory associated with why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky is that 13 people attended the Last Supper of Jesus Christ and then he was crucified on a Friday.

Other theories relate to Scandinavian mythology and legends of a bloodbath ordered against the Knights Templar by French King Philip IV on October 13, 1307.

However, sadly, Friday, the 13th, did live up to its reputation at least in the case - the Uphaar tragedy in the Capital.