Have you ever shared good news, only to immediately knock on a wooden table or whisper “touch wood”? This practice is followed around the globe no matter which part of the world you belong to or which religion you follow. (Image: Pexels)

There are a lot of historical beliefs, but one that stands out is a Pagan belief that trees were the homes of fairies, spirits and other mythical creatures. Therefore, there was a tradition to knock on the wood twice, the first one was to mention a wish to the tree and the second to say thank you. (Image: Pexels)

Meanwhile, in many parts of the world people also used to worship trees and regarded them as the home of gods, thus shaping the origin of the belief that touching the wood brought good luck. (Image: Pexels)

However, there is no strong evidence as to why this belief has become so rampant, many fables and lore’s indicate that by touching the wood, you are actually touching the wood of Holy Cross, which may bring good luck and help you seek protection from God. (Image: Pexels)

The idea behind this practice of touching wood or knocking was to distract malevolent spirits residing in the tree and prevent them from hearing your hopes for the future, as they may prevent them from coming true. (Image: Pexels)

Interestingly, there seems to be a phrase similar to touchwood existing everywhere. In Brazil, “Bater Na Madeira” has a similar meaning to touchwood. In Indonesia, the phrase “Amit-Amit” is used in a similar manner, while “Bezanam Be Tachte” is used in Iran. In Greece, there is a phrase which literally means knock on the wood and is used when people want to stop anything negative from happening. (Image: Pexels)