Touch Wood!

Being over-confident and boasting is not restricted to a few, all of us have been guilty of it, some time or the other. But most of us also have the feeling that if things are going well, too well, something is wrong or is bound to go wrong, and it is to guard against this change in fortune, that we use the phrase ‘touch wood’.
Today ‘touch wood’ is a Standard English idiomatic expression, and its American equivalent is ‘Knock on wood’.

Although it is certain that the belief is connected to a religious belief of superstition, its exact origin is uncertain and various theories abound, although most of them revolve around either the power of trees to drive away bad luck or as a sign of respect to the Gods who are said to have blessed the trees with these powers. Thus wood has since ancient times been associated with the Gods, magic, good fortune and even safety.

According to an ancient pagan belief, touching or knocking on wood wards off evil spirit, another belief is that good spirits reside in some trees, mainly Oak, and so touching or knocking the wood ensures that you are protected against misfortune & danger as the spirits on hearing your knock will come to your help. In fact no tree was more sacred throughout Europe than the Oak and newlyweds would dance around it for luck.
An ancient Celt belief is that a tree can conduct evil spirits down into the earth (much like a lightning conductor) and so touching a tree will draw out any evil spirit inside the body and send it into the ground.
The Greeks believed that if they touched an Oak tree, they communicate with Zeus, who would protect them from misfortune.
While an ancient Irish belief is that wood is knocked in order to thank the leprechauns (Irish fairy cobblers and keepers of treasures) for their good luck blessings.

Another theory has its roots in the Bible. Galatians (6:14) states ‘But God forbid that I should glory, save the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’. What it means is that one is forgiven idle boasting, if one remembers the cross immediately.
Since Christ was crucified on a cross, it became a Christian ritual to touch a wooden crucifix while praying for good fortune. And soon the powers of the crucifix were conferred onto every piece of wood. In effect every piece of wood became holy by becoming a symbol of the cross. Also small crucifix pendants made of wood became very popular as good luck charms.

One unlikely assumption is that the phrase is based on the game of ‘tag’, also known as ‘touch wood’, which was very popular amongst children during the 18th century. In one version, any child who was able to touch a tree (wood) was safe against capture, but since the game could also be played by replacing ‘touch wood’ with ‘touch iron’, it is not a very likely theory.
Although during the times that iron was in extensive use, it too was considered to have magical properties and touching iron had similar meaning as touching wood.

There is even a Jewish version in which around the 1500’s, the Jews were in flight and their temples (synagogues) were a safe haven. In order to protect those inside, the Jews had a special code, which had to be knocked on the wooden doors to gain access. Since this saved many lives, knocking on the wood became a sign of good luck.

Whatever the origin, the belief that the happiness in our lives may suddenly disappear and misfortune may appear, has resulted in this superstition becoming so commonplace, that we do not even consider it a superstition, for most of us it is a more of a custom or even a habit.
Actors & sportsmen are amongst those in whom this belief is very strong, as they believe it will increase their good luck before a show or a game.

Funnily enough, in this modern time of convenience, even customs and superstitions suffer, not in their followings but in their execution. For instance it might be difficult to find genuine wood and so substitutes are found and used, for example a table with a wooden type finish and if nothing else, our heads. But then, we don’t call each other blockheads for nothing.

But even now, some of us are extremely superstitious and will not touch just any piece of wood, the first choice would be a living tree, but if that is not around, an unpainted piece of wood would do, but the wood would have to be touched or knocked upon not once but thrice.