Why do we hit the wood to ward off bad luck?

Even if you are not the superstitious type, you should know the custom of “knocking on the wood” to ward off bad luck, right? But even if you don't use this ruse, have you ever wondered where it came from? According to the Today I Found Out website, the story of this gesture is a bit fuzzy, but there are some pretty interesting theories.

According to the story, the first "official" - so to speak - record of knocking on wood as a way of warding off negative energies appeared in 1899 in the United Kingdom and 1905 in the USA. However, there are several theories about the emergence of this custom, encompassing beliefs of pagan, Christian, and even Jewish peoples.

Pagan origin

With regard to the theory that the habit of hitting wood has its origin in paganism, it points out that most pagan cultures - distributed from Ireland to India - probably made use of this gesture. These peoples are believed to have thought that trees were inhabited by nature spirits, and these were often incorporated into their ceremonies and rituals.

One belief is that the pagans believed that by touching the tree trunks it was possible to invoke the benevolent spirits that inhabited them. Besides, that was the way the Irish thanked the leprechauns - little beings considered treasure keeper - for their moments of good luck.

Over time, it is possible that touching - or tapping - the wood has become a way of showing gratitude for random events and acknowledging the intervention of nature spirits for their blessings. Remember, however, that believers have always been afraid of divine wrath, so often the demonstrations served to ensure that nature would not turn against them and, instead of good luck, bring an unwanted tide of bad luck.

Christianity and Judaism

Another theory is that Christians would be responsible for spreading the custom of knocking on wood, since at the beginning of Christianity many of the pagan customs were eventually incorporated into the new religion. The explanation in this case, rather than related to the dwellings of the spirits of nature, was associated with the material with which the cross of Jesus was made. Thus, touching the wood was a way of also invoking the protection of Christ.

There is still the theory related to Judaism and, as far as we know, the custom would have arisen at the end of the 15th century, during the Spanish Inquisition. At the time, Jews were suffering harsh persecution at the behest of Torquemada, and since many of the synagogues were made of wood, the Hebrews created code touches to announce their arrival and gain access to the temples. This ruse would have saved many lives and become synonymous with good luck.

Catch

The above theories are just some of the most interesting hypotheses about the emergence of the custom of knocking on wood. In addition to these, there is another possible explanation that is quite plausible and originated even before the official popularization of the expression - between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as we mentioned in the beginning of the article.

In the early 19th century, there was an extremely popular children's game in the United Kingdom - a kind of catch - in which participants who were touching the wood did not risk being caught. Many believe this joke may well have crossed the Atlantic and conquered the kids in America, spreading to other countries over time.

* Posted on 24/01/2014