Opinions | City Talk
Myth or truth? Residents split over 'special' dates
Is a special date anything more than just a set of numbers?
- Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:23 July 8, 2007
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- For me these are significant dates, especially with the number seven. Major events in my life are connected with this number and I believe there is something there, says Mylene D. Cedillo.
Dubai/Abu Dhabi/Fujairah: Is a special date anything more than just a set of numbers?
According to some people, the date certainly is a lot more than just a number. As reported in Gulf News, some happy couples were desperate to wed yesterday because of the date: 7/7/07.
And the superstitious among us have another significant date marked on our calendars, because Friday the 13th is coming up - a day some associate with bad luck.
In a Gulf News online poll, just 19 per cent of respondents said they believed in the magic of numbers such as 7/7/07 and Friday the 13th, with 81 per cent saying they did not believe.
City Talk took to the streets to speak to residents of Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Fujairah to find out if they were any more enthusiastic about special dates.
Sammy Minion, 31, from the Philippines, said he believed in the magic of numbers. "I think in a way they do make sense, a lot of bad things happened on Friday the 13th so it has to mean something. I also think 7/7/07 is a good sign and good things will come out of it," he said.
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Mylene D. Cedillo, 29, a Filipina secretary, is another person who believes in the power of numbers.
"For me these are significant dates, especially with the number seven. Major events in my life are connected with this number and I believe there is something there," she said. "In the Philippines we believe dates such as Friday the 13th to be ominous and people would often avoid doing anything major on that day."
Sarah Shatila, 26, from Lebanon, said certain numbers become important only because some people choose to believe in them. "People believed in it so much that it started to become real, especially the Friday 13th thing. I don't believe in it but at the same time I think it means something to some people."
Diaa Hamed, 42, from Egypt said the "mythologies" relating to certain numbers did not mean anything to him. "It's just a folk myth that people invented. I don't think it should have any meaning, it also shouldn't affect anyone's life because it's all meaningless," he said.
Mohammad Madi, 18, a Palestinian student, also took the view that dates were not important. "I don't believe in such things, for me such dates are just coincidence and don't carry any special significance," he said. "It's just pure fabrication and myth invented by a certain section in society who wants to exploit people's superstitions and make money."
Mohammad Aamir Malek, 35, a Pakistani who works in the construction industry, said dates meant little to him. "I don't believe it because I think all days are the same," he said, adding that he would never change what he did because of the date.
British chartered engineer David Evans, 46, said giving special importance to a particular date was "just nonsense". "It doesn't seem to make any sense to me and it seems very primitive," he said, adding that he "probably won't even notice" the forthcoming Friday the 13th.
Dileep Kumar, 32, an Indian sales executive, said he too was unimpressed by yesterday's date.
"I never believed in such matters and I think there is only one extreme power in this universe which controls all human beings," he said. "People believe in such superstitions because they come from an environment in which this is prevalent or they have had some sort of experience."
Indian account executive Nirav Patel, 24, said he was "not that superstitious" and did not think dates were particularly important. "It doesn't make any difference to people like me who don't believe in it," he told City Talk.
Sadaf Razvi, 31, a Pakistani client relations executive, said a day turns out to be good or bad depending upon a person's attitude, not the date.
"If you think a day will be negative, it will turn out negative. If you take things positively, it will be positive. It's up to the person what they make of it. I'm not very superstitious, I don't believe in it," she said.
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