It must have happened to everyone at least once to touch the nearest metal object or to hear “knock on wood!” out of good luck, after having done something that could bring bad luck. But where does this custom so rooted in our culture come from and why does such an expression exist in our language?
To understand this you have to travel back to the Middle Ages, when it was believed that the shoe, especially the horseshoe hanging over the doors, ward off witches and sorcerers. The tradition is linked to the legend of Saint Dunstan, who is said to have trapped the devil with an iron.
In addition to iron, there are many traditional ways to attract luck, often linked to the pagan imagery of natural divinities. Finally, even nowadays we have numerous “rites” that attract good luck, typical of today’s way of experiencing the holidays.
Origins and meanings: the legend of Saint Dunstan
The legend of Saint Dunstan of Canterbury (in English Saint Dunstan), venerated by both the Catholic and Anglican Churches, claims that the Saint – before his beatification – was a blacksmith and a skilled blacksmith. According to tradition, Dunstan placed a horseshoe he had forged in the devil’s hoof while he was reading a book. The devil, thus trapped, was forced to pray to be freed and to grant something to the Saint.
In exchange for freedom, Dunstan made the devil promise not to sneak into houses where a shoe (not just a horseshoe) had been hung above the doors. In doing so, the iron became protection symbol against evil and nefarious influences, capable of keeping the evil eye and misfortune away. So it is very likely that from here the habit of “knock on wood” to ward off bad luck was born.
Like many other popular stories, this story is handed down in European folklore, becoming collective memory and merging with other ancient rites that already attributed apotropaic properties to this metal, i.e. capable of driving away evil.
The tradition of the horseshoe
Beyond the allegories and religious values of this story, the legend of Saint Dunstan testifies to the tradition of medieval populations of hanging a horseshoe on the door of their house as a good auspicious amulet. The horseshoe, in fact, as well as being a symbol linked to this legend, has been appreciated since ancient times because it represented strength, resistance And protection.
Horse shoeing was expensive and precious, it was not easily commissionable and required quite a few economic investments, and for this reason it was believed that it contained a sort of “useful energy” against negative influences. In many rural cultures it was customary to hang the horseshoe with the tips facing upwards, in order to “enclose” the fortune and keep it inside the house, also recalling the shape offemale genital organa symbol of good luck. According to some popular stories, if the iron fell or was found twisted it was a doubly lucky sign.
Furthermore, it was customary to hang the iron with an odd number of nails, much better if seven, a number that has always been considered powerful, connected to (un)luck, to magic, to the mystical power of nature in pagan traditions. The charm of the number seven is also visible in the arbitrary classifications of man, think of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The gesture of “knock on wood” as a form of superstition
All these meanings attributed to the horseshoe are therefore associated with superstitiona set of practices and gestures that human beings have always developed to try to influence chance, ward off bad luck or ingratiate themselves with good fortune. In Italy, as in many other European countries, the gesture of touching iron fits into this category together with other behaviors such as crossing fingers, making horns or knocking on wood.
However, not in all cultures the lucky material is iron: in Anglo-Saxon countries this role is assigned to wood. The expression corresponding to “knock on wood” is in fact “knock on wood” (i.e. “knock on wood”). The reference is to a very ancient pagan custom: it was believed that protective spirits hid in the trunks of trees. This was reflected in the games of children, who traditionally – in the games equivalent to our “you’ve got it” – when they touched the trees they declared themselves “safe” and could not be caught.
The simple gesture of touching any iron object (a railing, a handle, a nail) or wood (a table, a door, a chair) to recall the protective energy of the material and chase away the negative omen has therefore become very common in various cultures. This is not magic or superstition as an end in itself, but rather a symbolic behavior That it has stratified in popular culture over the centuries.
Other ways to secure your luck
As briefly mentioned, the tradition of relying on signs and symbols to ensure good luck or avoid misfortune is widespread in many cultures, with different variations and gestures depending on the contexts.
Remaining in the Anglo-Saxon context, there is the tradition oflucky bone (in English wishbone) according to which two diners grab the two opposite ends of a bone from a freshly eaten turkey and pull it, breaking it. Whoever gets the longest half will be the luckiest.
Other examples of good luck traditions are linked to the numerous symbols of Christmas and New Year’s: Who has never kissed their loved one under the mistletoe at Christmas? Who has never eaten on New Year’s Eve lentils to attract wealth and worn red linen to attract luck? In Spain and Latin American countries it is customary to swallow 12 lucky grapes (the sweet grapes of the wine) within one minute of midnight on the new year.
All these customs show how humanity has always sought to create symbolic connections between material objects and abstract meanings such as luck, health and benevolence. Hidden behind the saying “knock on wood” lies a gesture that brings with it centuries of tradition, legends and meanings that are not always immediate.
From the myth of Saint Dunstan to the protection of the horseshoe hanging on the door to modern superstitious practices, the gesture expresses the universal desire to exorcise bad luck and invoke a glimmer of control over an uncertain world. Even if today we often do it without thinking too much, behind it there is a thread that connects language, superstition, culture and ancient symbols.
