Krispy Kreme celebrates Friday the 13th by giving away 13,000 boxes of donuts

Krispy Kreme is trying to reverse the bad luck that typically comes when Friday the 13th rolls around.

The donut chain will be giving away 13,000 12-count boxes of original glazed donuts to customers at random across participating locations in the U.S.

Winners of the Friday giveaway will receive a coupon that can be redeemed at a later date for one free dozen.

However, the coupons are only valid for a limited time. Starting February 15, winners have just 13 days to claim their free dozen donuts.

The list of participating Krispy Kreme shops can be found on the chain’s website.

This is not the first time Krispy Kreme has jumped on the Friday the 13th bandwagon. In 2024, the donut chain offered a dozen original glazed donuts for only 13 cents.

To obtain the deal, customers needed to purchase a full-priced box of donuts or a 16-pack of minis and use the promo code “13” when ordering in-store or online via the app or website. There was a limit of one box of 13-cent donuts per person.

The store’s offer was called “Lucky Friday” amid the superstition that 13 is an unlucky number and that Friday the 13th is viewed as an unlucky date.

Friday the 13th superstitions originate with the Last Supper, which was attended by 13 people — Jesus Christ and his 12 disciples — on Maundy Thursday, the night before his crucifixion by Roman soldiers on Good Friday.

The number 13 is therefore associated with Judas Iscariot, Christ’s betrayer, and is regarded as imperfect when compared with 12, which represents the number of months in a year. Most years have two Friday the 13ths — and sometimes three.

Famous indicators of bad luck associated with the day include a black cat crossing your path, breaking a mirror, walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors and saying the name of Shakespeare’s “Scottish play” in a theatre.

Krispy Kreme fans who aren’t superstitious can choose to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the chain’s four new donuts for the holiday — the “I Love You a Choco-Lot Donut,” the “You're Berry Sweet Donut,” the “Teddy Bear Cookies & Kreme Donut” and the “Sprinkled with Love Donut.”

Each one is festively decorated for the love-themed day, which falls the day after Friday the 13th, whether that be the donuts themselves being shaped in a heart, frosted with special red and pink frosting, or adorned with heart-shaped sprinkles.