2006-09-23 01:56:02 · 13 answers · asked by Ajay 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
its a superstitious tradition just like walking under a ladder ot stepping on cracks in the sidewalk...it reinforces many who are unwilling to control their own destiny
2006-09-23 02:07:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 2⤋
It comes from the early Christian Church & the beliefe in Holy Relics.
There was a search that took place for the Cross of Jesus at the time that Constantine was the' Roman Emperor' (He was born in York but that's a different Story). & Constantine's Mother Helenia requested the search in beliefe that when evil was about that by touching of the cross would protect her, as Jesus' blood had soaked into it.
Over the years people cottoned on to this idea, and now we say Touch wood, to stop bad things happening.
By the way Constantine & Helenia were from York, and they made Christianity the main religion of the the Roman Empire, so leading the faith to being a world Religion instead of a small religion.
2006-09-25 01:07:20 · answer #2 · answered by Joolz of Salopia 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The superstition of "knockig" or "touching" wood comes from way back, when it was thought to be in respect of the mighty spirits of the woodland and forest. Generally these spirits were thought to be looking over the small villages in the area and if one found oneself tempting fate it was wise to "request" a blessing from the wood spirits to ward off the potential harm which may befall them. Hence by touching the wood they were attempting to communicate with the spirits of the woodland. Hope this helps :)
2006-09-23 02:00:36 · answer #3 · answered by I O 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This goes back to the Druids. According to Druidism trees are closer to Divinity than are human beings. Thus trees are seen as having power and the ability to open doors to the realm of spirit. The belief is drawn from students of Druidism who would meditate on their lessons with their back up against an oak or other sacred tree. Touching the tree is merely a way to get the tree's attention in order to ask for help in communing with the Divine.
There are two basic ways to get a tree's attention: one is to touch it, as you have mentioned; the other is to knock on the tree three times. Touching a tree is similar to the touching of the feet of a holy person as is done in India: it is a sign of respect and thus worthy of blessings. Knocking on the tree three times is more complex and so deeply interwoven into the fabric of Druidic belief and cosmological complexity that it is impossible to fully explain. For simplicity's sake it is deeply rooted in the belief in the Druidic God who, like Christianity, is seen as a Trinity; thus the three knocks are similar to a Catholic making the Sign of the Cross.
During ancient times and to the end of the prominence of Druidism, many uneducated persons saw Druids doing this and made assumptions about the meaning of such an act. At some point they started to imitate this with the misconceptions of the meaning behind it.
Later European Christians carried this practice over and translated it to represent the Cross of Christ; at this point the sacred tree was replaced by anything made of wood and the knocks became representative of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of the Christian Trinity.
2006-09-23 05:49:27 · answer #4 · answered by Shazaaye Puebla 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For similar reasons that Christians make the sign of the cross, etc - but the touch wood thing goes back a lot further to animist religions in which trees, and water, had particular significance. Which makes more sense to me, as our own lives depend on both.
2006-09-23 02:18:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
People once believed that the trees were gods and had spirits within them. To ward of evil, ask for blessing or to pray they would make offerings to the trees - amongst other things, such as water, mountains etc, incidentally they would have made live sacrifices at this time, which Christianity put a stop to by Jesus offering himself up as the final sacrifice (if you believe that).
Anyway we still say touch wood in reference to this period in time, when we were more at one with nature!!
2006-09-23 23:34:15 · answer #6 · answered by Marlene 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's just a superstition to touch wood,and a very old one at that,how old is any ones guess,but i still do it now,if i say that everything is fine touch wood,i touch something that is wood,or my head lol
2006-09-23 02:10:58 · answer #7 · answered by amber_xx66 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The relatively modern explanation, I think, is that it is the closest people can get to touching the cross of Jesus. More traditionally, it was most likely a connection to some other force or energy (pagan god or somesuch) - trees and plants have been, if not worshipped, very well thought of and absolutely essential just about forever.
2006-09-23 02:01:17 · answer #8 · answered by end337 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you mean knocking on wood i think it is because people are afraid of fate or karma.
2006-09-23 01:59:47 · answer #9 · answered by fallenangel4504 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because wood is non conductive which means why u are touching it u cant conduct.thats why when any orchestra play beethovens music the conductor always stands on a metal plate so he can conduct properly.....hahahahahahahaha ss jus my s o h.....aint gotta clue really.
2006-09-26 01:17:51 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
it comes from touching the cross of the cruxifiction for good luck if you didnt have a cross you would touch wood instead
2006-09-27 01:34:09 · answer #11 · answered by jojo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋