Guess What Today Is?

From Wikipedia:

Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year – for example, in 2015, the 13th fell on a Friday in February, March, and November. 2017 through 2020 will all have two Friday the 13ths, and the years 2021 and 2022 will have just one occurrence each. 

A Friday the 13th occurs during any month that begins on a Sunday.

The Lucky 5-Yen Coin

When I first traveled to Japan in 2001, I learned a little bit about Japanese currency, the yen (pronounced "en").

One thing I learned is that the 5-yen coin is considered a lucky coin. It's not worth much (roughly comparable to the U.S. nickel).

According to YesJapan.com:

Good luck
The 5 yen coin in Japanese is pronounced "go-en". This also coincidentally means "good luck". For this reason the 5 yen coin is thought to be good luck.

And, according to Associated Content.com:

The Japanese pronunciation of five yen, "go en", sounds very similar to the expression for karma or good luck. This similarity in pronunciation was sufficient in the Japanese culture to evolve into a well developed superstition. The five yen coin is believed to bring good fortune to those in possession of it.

Not that I am superstitious, but I save all my 5-yen coins from each trip to Japan and hand them out to friends (or people I want to have good luck). They all like the jesture once I explain it to them.

People can carry them in their wallet, pocket, purse or wear it on a ribbon or chain (the handy hole in the center of the coin makes this easy).