Many ancient practices and superstitions have an ancient origin. It can be difficult to trace back the roots of practices that have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. One example is “knocking on wood” or “touch wood.” You have learned this from your parents or grandparents.
When Do You “Knock on Wood?”
You generally “knock on wood” after saying something that expresses optimism about something that could theoretically go wrong. For example, “I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket. Knock on wood.” It’s related to the expression “Don’t tempt fate.” The idea is that boasting of your good fortune may evoke bad luck, or perhaps the ire of some spirits lurking in the background.
Where Does the Practice Come From?
Although the phrase and practice of touching wood likely dates back to ancient times, the first written record didn’t appear until the 19th century. The Dictionary of English Folklore, compiled by Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud, dates the knocking on wood custom only as far back as 1805.
Despite the lack of scholarship verifying this, the superstition of knocking on wood is thought to have originated in ancient pagan times, when people believed that spirits lived in trees. Knocking on wood was seen as a way to appease the spirits and ward off bad luck. In ancient times, knocking on wood meant tapping on a tree. Today, it could just as easily be a wooden table.
History.com speculates that the practice may have come from the Celts, who believed in tree spirits. They even devised a system of writing, called Ogham, that was often inscribed on trees. Not only that, but the alphabet itself is related to the names of trees. Pagan priests or druids may have used this alphabet to evoke tree spirits and deities. Of course, Ogham was also used for many purposes, some more mundane. It was also used as a kind of code as no one but the Celts could understand it.
Another theory is that the superstition of knocking on wood began with Christians, who believed that the wood of the cross on which Jesus was crucified was sacred and could protect them from evil.
Today, people all over the world knock on wood for good luck, or, more precisely, to ward off bad luck. As with many common but old practices, it’s difficult to pinpoint with certainty where it originated. One thing that’s certain is that knocking on wood has become an extremely widespread practice. Like many such practices, it’s done by many people who profess not to be superstitious, “just in case.”