����ý

As we look forward to an incredible summer of sport, you might find yourself feeling very superstitious.

Do you like to wear the same clothes as the last time your favourite team or athlete won? Or sit in the same seat, or eat the same food?

These are all examples of superstitions, even if they’re very personal. Superstitions are simply beliefs that by either doing or not doing something, you will have good luck or keep bad luck at bay.

Some popular superstitions include crossing your fingers or touching wood. Their origins are shrouded in mystery but we’ve taken a look at some of the more well-known legends.

Crossing your fingers and hoping for the best

When wishing someone good luck, we often say that we’ll keep our fingers crossed for them – the middle and index fingers, specifically. But why?

There are couple of theories about the origins of this gesture. One idea is that it was an ancient Pagan custom, which actually required two people. Together, they would cross fingers with each other. At the point at which their fingers met, any wishes they made would be kept safe, until the day they might come true.

Another theory is that crossing fingers was a way for early Christians to call upon the power of Christ’s crucifixion at a time of persecution, especially if they had to lie when facing torture. To this day, some people still cross their fingers behind their back if they’re telling a lie or making a promise they can’t keep.

However, British folklorist Steve Roud makes the point that there is no written evidence for either of these origin stories. In fact, no one has found any mention of crossing of fingers before 1890.

When crossing of fingers is mentioned, Steve says, it is in the context of providing protection from witches, rather than providing general good luck. Before the crossing of fingers emerges, there is evidence stretching back to Shakespeare of people warding off witches by hiding their thumb inside their hand and making a fist shape.

Steve believes that this idea of protection also explains why we cross our fingers when lying: "If I do that and tell a lie, I'm protecting against fate punishing me for telling a lie. It's the protection notion, rather than the good luck notion."

Hanging up a horseshoe to ward off evil

The legend of the horseshoe is closely associated with St Dunstan who, today, is a patron saint of goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewellers.

As the story goes, while living as a hermit in Glastonbury, he was paid a visit by Satan, who asked him to use his blacksmithing skills to shoe the devil’s hoof. Having recognised that it was the devil, St Dunstan deliberately attached the horseshoe in a way that would cause severe pain. He then refused to remove the horseshoe until the devil had promised that he would never enter anywhere that a horseshoe was hung up.

Horseshoes were typically nailed into a door or the surrounding area, or were set into the steps leading up to the door. On a ship, a horseshoe might be nailed to a mast, such as on HMS Victory, Lord Nelson’s ship during the Battle of Trafalgar.

Traditionally, horseshoes were made of iron, which was itself thought to have mystical properties. If you happened to find a piece of iron, Steve says, it was thought to offer protection against witches, going back to the 14th Century. The finding it by chance is crucial, he emphasises: "You can't engineer your fate."

Steve adds that hanging up horseshoes for luck is mentioned as early as the 16th Century, but that it isn't necessarily linked to the story of St Dunstan.

In Italy, you might still hear people saying that they touch iron if they think they’ve jinxed themselves.

Knocking on wood to avoid tempting fate

If there’s no iron around and you fear you have somehow jinxed yourself, you might touch some wood instead. There are numerous different explanations as to why touching wood is thought to guard against bad luck.

One theory links the practice with Pagans, and their beliefs that spirits and gods could be found living in trees. By knocking on a tree truck, believers could communicate with these spirits and ask for their protection, or thank them for some good luck.

Alternatively, the spirits within the wood might have had a more evil nature. Knocking could have scared malicious eavesdroppers away, stopping them from reversing any instances of good luck they might have overheard.

As with the crossing of fingers, a Christian interpretation links the touching of wood back to the power and protection of the crucifixion, and the wood of the cross.

However, Steve has argued that touching wood is actually a far more modern custom, with its roots in a playground game from the 19th Century, called Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood. A variation on the traditional game of tag, players could avoid being caught by simply touching a piece of wood. The wood provided them with protection, which is how the superstition might have then arisen.

He says that the earliest reference we have for touching wood is 1810, and that references made in the 19th Century link it to this children's game. It is only in the 20th Century that we see claims that the origins are 2000 years old, and linked to Paganism or Christianity.