I don’t walk under ladders and I knock on a wooden surface after stating something I don’t want to happen.

These silly habits stem from superstitions, a naive belief or notion not based on reason or knowledge.

Because you are reading this column, then you must have survived the latest superstition: Friday, Aug. 13.

The fear of Friday the 13th is called friggatriskaidekaphobia.

Stories surround the origin of this day, but most are related to the Last Supper because Jesus sat at a table with 13 people and he was crucified on a Friday. It is thought that if 13 people sit down to dinner, one will die within in the year.

But some cultures find the number 13 to be lucky, such as the Chinese.

Superstitions seem silly at times, and people like to make them up for various reasons.

Lesser-known superstitions, like the ones my friend follows during Alabama football season, baffle me. She makes up new superstitions to follow every year.

One year she had to have the same seat at games, which was tough to accommodate in the first-some first-serve student section, but she always showed up early enough to stake out her spot.

Another season she wore the same shirt to games each week. Any superstition would continue until Alabama lost a game, but if the team kept winning, she remained true to her habits.

We graduated from the university before Alabama’s undefeated and National Championship season last year, so I don’t know what superstition she concocted for the season, but I am sure she created something to abide by all season.

But for as silly as superstitions are, we cannot rid ourselves from them. I know that knocking on a piece of wood won’t tempt the fates, but I still can’t stop myself from doing it. For me, I keep doing these things because it’s habit and because I have a slight fear of what would happen if I don’t knock on wood.

This falls under the same mentality of why I like to show up to meetings early, even though I know it will always start at least 15 minutes late. I show up early because the one time I show up 15 minutes late, things will have started on time.

I keep up the superstitions because I don’t want to be 15 minutes late to a meeting that started on time.

It may be silly, but it keeps me going, and I’m always on time.

Laura Fenton is education reporter for the Selma Times-Journal. She can be contacted at laura.fenton@selmatimesjournal.com.