If you have clicked on the story, you are probably habitual of touching or knocking on the wood, in order to keep what you are talking about from getting jinxed. But have you ever paused to wonder why do we exactly say “touch wood”?
There are a lot of historical beliefs, but the one that stands out is a Pagan belief that trees were the homes of fairies, spirits and other mythical creatures. Hence, there was tradition to knock on the wood twice, the first one was to mention a wish to the tree and the second to say thank you.
In fact, in many parts of the world people used to worship trees and regarded them as the home of gods, thus shaping the origin of the belief that touching the wood brought good luck.
While there is no strong evidence as to why this belief has become so rampant, many fables and lores indicate that by touching the wood, you are actually touching the wood of the Holy Cross, which may bring good luck and help you seek protection of God.
The whole idea of touching the wood or knocking was also to distract malevolent spirits residing in the tree and prevent them from hearing your hopes for the future, as they may prevent them from coming true.
It is very interesting to note that no matter which part of the world you belong to or which religion you follow, there seems to be a phrase similar to touchwood existing everywhere.
For example, there is a phrase in Brazil “Bater Na Madeira” which has a similar meaning to touch wood. In Indonesia, the phrase “Amit-Amit” is used in a similar manner, while “Bezanam Be Tachte” is used in Iran. In Greece, there is a phrase which literally means knock on the wood and is used when people want to stop anything negative (that they may have heard) from happening.
In the end, the crux remains that it is human nature to seek protection from any negative emotion (including envy and anger) and protect our hopes and wishes for the future by not jinxing them.
Hence, it comes as no surprise that the phrase “touchwood” has seemingly traveled from ages to still exist in this modern world.
There are a lot of historical beliefs, but the one that stands out is a Pagan belief that trees were the homes of fairies, spirits and other mythical creatures. Hence, there was tradition to knock on the wood twice, the first one was to mention a wish to the tree and the second to say thank you.
In fact, in many parts of the world people used to worship trees and regarded them as the home of gods, thus shaping the origin of the belief that touching the wood brought good luck.
While there is no strong evidence as to why this belief has become so rampant, many fables and lores indicate that by touching the wood, you are actually touching the wood of the Holy Cross, which may bring good luck and help you seek protection of God.
The whole idea of touching the wood or knocking was also to distract malevolent spirits residing in the tree and prevent them from hearing your hopes for the future, as they may prevent them from coming true.
It is very interesting to note that no matter which part of the world you belong to or which religion you follow, there seems to be a phrase similar to touchwood existing everywhere.
For example, there is a phrase in Brazil “Bater Na Madeira” which has a similar meaning to touch wood. In Indonesia, the phrase “Amit-Amit” is used in a similar manner, while “Bezanam Be Tachte” is used in Iran. In Greece, there is a phrase which literally means knock on the wood and is used when people want to stop anything negative (that they may have heard) from happening.
In the end, the crux remains that it is human nature to seek protection from any negative emotion (including envy and anger) and protect our hopes and wishes for the future by not jinxing them.
Hence, it comes as no surprise that the phrase “touchwood” has seemingly traveled from ages to still exist in this modern world.
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