Fingers crossed

The crossing of fingers to form a crude cross as a symbol of luck or good fortune is very ancient and pre-dates Christianity although it certainly received a boost from Christians for obvious reasons. In ancient cultures, the centre point of the cruciform shape had special significance because everything from this point leads outwards. It was this centre point that was thought to bring good luck. By way of complete contrast, in some cultures, the thumbs are held by the other fingers as a symbol of good luck. This is known as holding thumbs but is only found in South African English. Holding thumbs however is common in countries like Germany and the Netherlands. Because of historical links to these countries, the expression holding thumbs has taken root in South African English rather than fingers crossed. Many historians maintain that holding thumbs originated in ancient gladiatorial contests in Rome and was the sign made by the crowd to spare life, whereas the waving of thumbs, either up or down, meant the opposite. For a good analysis of this, a visit to the following website is highly recommended. http://bernd.wechner.info/Hitchhiking/Thumb/