"I've never broken a bone...Knock on wood.." Why do we look for wood when tempting fate? Here's the 411 on this and other well-known old wives' tales.
Break a mirror? Throw salt over your shoulder to prevent bad luck. Having some bad luck? You must have put your left foot on the floor first when you got out of bed.
These old wives tales have been around for centuries. A blend of mythology, superstition and our need to explain "the unexplained", there's a reason and a remedy for just about everything that ails you. But what do they mean? And where do they come from?
Here's some of the more popular old wives' tales and the meaning behind the myth:
Knock On Wood - The theory behind this little beauty is that knocking on wood scares off evil spirits. Typically used when "tempting fate" (as in "I've never...), knocking on wood is supposed to keep the bad spirits from proving you wrong. Its also been suggested that knocking on wood follows old mythology that trees attract good spirits. Thus, touch wood and you'll bring yourself good luck.
Break A Leg - This superstition goes back to the 1920's when family and friends used to tell stage actors to "break a leg". Its always been thought that this saying stemmed from the idea that wishing good luck was actually bad luck, thus "break a leg" would have the opposite effect and the actor would do well. However, according to IdionSite.com, several people corrected this thinking and explained that "break a leg" actually refers to the rod that raises and lowers the curtain. To "break the leg" then, means that the actor gets so many curtain calls that the leg (rod) breaks.
Friday the 13th - This superstition is said to come primarily from old religious beliefs. According to legend, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden on a Friday and Noah's big rainstorm began on a Friday as well. In addition, Good Friday marks the day Christ was crucified, making Friday a supposedly all-around bad day. What about the number thirteen? This was said to be the number of witches needed to make a coven and because early Christianity believed pagan religions to be evil, 13 quickly became an unlucky number.
Black Cats - While most everyone has heard that black cats are bad luck, there's actually a few different stories to this one. One theory goes that the black cat represents the Egyptian Goddess Bast and when Christianity was really starting to take hold, they claimed the cat to be evil to dissuade people from following alternative religions. Another theory is that the black cat is actually good luck and is coming to warn you of impending danger. Thus, you were supposed to turn around and go the other way.
Halloween - Why do we have such a fascination with Halloween? The holiday actually stems from the Pagan holiday Samhain and it was believed that this was the one day of the year that the dead could walk the Earth. To fool all the demons and other unsavory characters, people dressed up as ghouls and goblins to "blend in" with any undead that might happen to be strolling by.
Full Moon Mayhem - Have you heard that weird things happen when there's a full moon? This notion comes from the effect that the lunar cycles have on the tides. Since our bodies are also primarily made up of water, the belief is that the lunar cycles must have the same effect on our behavior as well.
