Knocking on wood is a superstition believed to ward off evil spirits. It originated from pagan traditions and is now ingrained in Northern European and North American cultures. People knock on wood to prevent bad luck or pay homage to lucky spirits. The exact origins are unclear, but it may have been adapted by Christians. It is a harmless superstition that some people believe in for luck.
People often knock on wood when making a statement that seems to tempt fate. The idea is that knocking on wood will ward off evil spirits. The superstitions surrounding evil spirits are ancient, and the idea of touching wood to avoid them is also quite ancient. Many people in Northern Europe and North America knock so thoughtfully that they don’t even realize they are doing it, showing how ingrained the tradition is in these cultures.
In most cases, it is believed that one must literally knock on wood to deflect bad luck. People usually knock with a clenched fist, creating a noise similar to knocking on a door. In other cases, people may say “knock on wood” or “touch wood” after making a potentially risky statement like “today doesn’t feel like rain.”
The exact origins of the tradition are unclear. In many pagan traditions, fairies and other creatures were said to live in trees. In these cases, people might beat the wood to ask for luck or to distract spirits with bad intentions. This idea may have been adapted by Christians, as were many ancient pagan beliefs, and certainly some people associate knocking on the wood with the cross. Some pieces of wood or the true cross can be carried around for good luck by some people as well.
In the 1800s, many children’s games included an exhortation to knock on wood, although the idea was probably widespread long before these games became popular. The tradition of knocking for luck seemed to become much more widely accepted as these children’s games entered the popular imagination however. By 1900, the British and Americans were both knocking on wood for luck.
People knock on wood in one of two contexts. In the first, someone makes a statement about something he hopes won’t happen and knocks to prevent that event. In the other case, someone makes a statement about a desired outcome and does the deed to pay homage to lucky spirits or to ward off bad ones, depending on personal beliefs. While knocking on wood is unlikely to have a scientific basis, it appears to be a relatively harmless superstition and some people believe that it is better to be safe than sorry when it comes to luck.
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