Crossed fingers

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See also: Cross-fingering
Crossed fingers

To cross one's fingers is a hand gesture commonly used to wish for luck. Occasionally it is interpreted as an attempt to implore God for protection.[1] The gesture is referred to by the common expressions "cross your fingers", "keep your fingers crossed", or just "fingers crossed". Some people, mostly children, also use the gesture to excuse their telling of a white lie.[2] By extension, a similar belief is that crossing one's fingers invalidates a promise being made.[3]

Origin

A painting depicting Jesus with his fingers crossed at the Last Supper.

The gesture of crossed fingers traces back to the early Church, Christians would cross their fingers in order to invoke the power associated with the Christian cross for protection, when faced with evil.[1] Moreover, Christians, when persecuted by the Romans, used the symbol of crossed fingers, along with the Ichthys, in order to recognize one another and assemble for worship services.[4] In 16th century England, people continued to cross fingers or make the sign of the cross in order to ward off evil, as well as when people coughed or sneezed.[5][6]

This superstition thus became popular among many early European Christian cultures. In some places, a comrade or well-wisher placed his index finger over the index finger of the person making the wish, the two fingers forming a cross. The one person makes the wish, the other empathizes and supports. Over centuries, the custom was simplified, so that a person could wish on his own, by crossing his index and middle fingers to form an X. But traces remain—two people hooking index fingers as a sign of greeting or agreement is still common in some circles today.

Charles Panati believes that the act of crossing one's fingers as a sign of luck or making a wish traces back to pre-Christian times, speculating that the cross was a symbol of unity and benign spirits dwelt at the intersection point.[7] A wish made on a cross was a way of "anchoring" the wish at the intersection of the cross until the wish was fulfilled.

Anecdotal use

The 1787 A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Proverbs, and Popular Superstitions by Francis Grose records the recommendation to keep one's fingers crossed until one sees a dog to avert the bad luck attracted by walking under a ladder.

In popular culture

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. In fiction the crossed fingers are used by characters when telling lies or in order to invalidate promises.

An example of this usage is in the film "The Truman Show"; the main character Truman realizes his marriage is a farce when he discovers a wedding photo of his wife with her fingers crossed.

In 2014, the show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver did a report on the misleading and destructive qualities of state lotteries behind the scenes, and in the homes causing many to become addicted and go broke. John Oliver pointed out that the official symbol for the Oregon Lottery is a cartoon hand with its fingers crossed, supposedly for good luck, while their motto under the symbol is "It Does Good Things". He joked that the symbol might as well refer to the use of lying instead of good luck, referring to the amount of Oregon families losing thousands of dollars every year to video poker machines, which are run by the state.

Exception

Pressing thumbs as gesture to wish for luck in German-speaking countries.

In Vietnam the gesture is considered rude,[8][9] especially to another person. Referring to female genitals, it is comparable to the finger in western culture.

In German-speaking countries the gesture is only known for vitiating oaths. Wishing for luck is gestured by pressing thumbs. The same gesture is used in Poland,[10] Sweden and Bulgaria.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Orange Coast Magazine. Emmis Communications. May 1990. pg. 177. "In early Christian days, a believer confronted by evil or hostile influences implored the power of the Holy Cross for protection by twisting his middle finger over his forefinger and holding the remaining fingers down with his thumb."
  2. ↑ Field Guide to Gestures. Quirk Books. 2003. pg. 201. "Children are a big proponent of this gesture, though they usually use it when telling white lies, believing that having the fingers crossed behind the back makes it okay to fib."
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Jim Jester. Real Israel. 2011. "When they were persecuted in Rome, Christians would secretly come together with the sign of the fish, and they would hold up their crossed fingers, as a Sign of the crossed emblem that had once been on the vestments of the army of Barabbas. It became a custom everywhere, for Christians when meeting, to make the sign of a cross by crossing their fingers."
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ https://weirdwonderfulvietnam.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/things-not-to-do-in-vietnam-1-crossed-fingers/
  9. ↑ https://vietnameselanguage.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/vietnamese-body-language-and-what-it-means/
  10. ↑ pl:Trzymanie kciuków
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