If you read my post on Sunday, you may have noticed several times that I wrote *knock on wood* including in the title of the post. The expression is used when there is no wood to actually knock on, an action that’s used when you feel like you’re tempting fate and want to ward off evil. When you’re actually knocking on wood you need to do it three times, but if you’re saying it or writing it, once is fine.
The tradition traces back to an ancient pagan belief that spirits resided in trees, particularly oak, ash, holly, or hawthorn. By knocking on or touching the wood you are paying tribute to these spirits by acknowledging them and can call on them for protection against ill-fortune. It’s also a way of thanking them for their continued blessing and good luck.
The Greeks worshipped the oak because it was sacred to Zeus, the Celts believed in tree spirits, and both believed touching sacred trees would bring good fortune. Irish lore holds that "touching wood" is a way to thank the leprechauns for a bit of luck. Pagans also held similar beliefs of protective tree spirits. The Chinese and Koreans thought the spirits of mothers who died in childbirth remained in nearby trees.
A Jewish version traces the origin to the Spanish Inquisition of the 15th century. At the time, persecuted Jews fled to synagogues built of wood, and they devised a coded knock to gain admission. Since this practice spared countless lives, it became common to "knock on wood" for good luck.
Like many of their traditions, the Christians appropriated the idea of knocking on wood from the pagans, making the practice more acceptable by claiming the wood in question referred to the cross Jesus was crucified on.
In the 1800s, many children's games included a saying to knock on wood. The game of “Tiggy Touchwood” was a kind of tag in which players were “safe” whenever they touched some kind of wood like a tree or a door.
In these modern times, many traditionally wooden items only appear wood-like – tables, bookcases, etc. It’s become acceptable to knock on a table with a wood veneer, or even on something that is not wood at all, such as plastic or Formica, as long as you say "knock on wood" or "touch wood". To me, this shows that the original reason for knocking is becoming forgotten, even in folk memories, in favor of the knocking action itself.
To my surprise, while doing research for this piece, I came across many references to a person knocking on their own head if no wood was available. This is something I’m in the habit of doing, even when there is wood around. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one.
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