We’ve all had the feeling that things ar5e sometimes going too well, that by over confidence of idle boasting we may stretch our luck too far and bring some terrible retribution. An old proverb says, ‘He who talks much of happiness, summons grief.’
The idea that joyful events in life may suddenly run in reverse and end in misfortune or tragedy is closely linked with the superstition of touching or knocking on wood. That action is so commonplace that we scarcely recognize it as superstition. Any statement that may be seen to tempt the fates is almost inevitably followed – and swiftly! – by a search for the nearest piece of wood.
The belief that touching wood will placate the evil spirits goes back to pagan times, when trees were held sacred as the abode of gods. These gods commanded the trees to spring into life and to lose their leaves. They chose some trees to be ever green, a sign of immortality. Touching a tree was a mark of respect to the gods, a request for favour to be granted of thanks for one already given.
After the Crucifixion, pagan reverence was joined by a Christian belief that, because Christ died on a wooden cross, all wood was holy. Many people wore wooden crucifixes, touching them as a sign of penitence if they caught themselves gloating of making a rash statement of intent. They felt, too, that Christ had called upon them to lead humble lives. Lack of humility was not only tempting fate – it was a sin.
The super-superstitious aren’t happy about touching just any piece of wood. If no living tree is at hand, they will try to find unpainted wood, touching or knocking upon it not once but three times.
It’s interesting to note that touching wood for safety features in many children’s hide-and-seek games. A player gets home, safe from capture, by touching base, usually a tree of wooden post.
The idea that joyful events in life may suddenly run in reverse and end in misfortune or tragedy is closely linked with the superstition of touching or knocking on wood. That action is so commonplace that we scarcely recognize it as superstition. Any statement that may be seen to tempt the fates is almost inevitably followed – and swiftly! – by a search for the nearest piece of wood.
The belief that touching wood will placate the evil spirits goes back to pagan times, when trees were held sacred as the abode of gods. These gods commanded the trees to spring into life and to lose their leaves. They chose some trees to be ever green, a sign of immortality. Touching a tree was a mark of respect to the gods, a request for favour to be granted of thanks for one already given.
After the Crucifixion, pagan reverence was joined by a Christian belief that, because Christ died on a wooden cross, all wood was holy. Many people wore wooden crucifixes, touching them as a sign of penitence if they caught themselves gloating of making a rash statement of intent. They felt, too, that Christ had called upon them to lead humble lives. Lack of humility was not only tempting fate – it was a sin.
The super-superstitious aren’t happy about touching just any piece of wood. If no living tree is at hand, they will try to find unpainted wood, touching or knocking upon it not once but three times.
It’s interesting to note that touching wood for safety features in many children’s hide-and-seek games. A player gets home, safe from capture, by touching base, usually a tree of wooden post.
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