Where did crossing your fingers for good luck come from?
singleAnswer
The Catholic Church.
Crossed fingers
crossing your fingers for good luck
Crossed fingers Talk:Crossed fingers Russian traditions and superstitions Apotropaic magic Fig sign Japanese superstitions List of gestures Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2008 January 23 ... Obscene gesture List of bad luck signs
To cross one&#39;s <b>fingers</b> is a hand gesture commonly used to wish for <b>luck</b>. 
Occasionally it is interpreted as an attempt to implore God for protection. The 
gesture is referred to by the common expressions &quot;cross <b>your fingers</b>&quot;, &quot;keep <b>your</b> 
<b>fingers crossed</b>&quot;, or just &quot;<b>fingers crossed</b>&quot;. ... <b>Good</b> Housekeeping, Volume 226. 
International&nbsp;... US / English-speaking world perspective[edit]. Lots of cultures don&#39;t use these 
gestures in these ways, or only use them in one or the other -- for instance, in 
Switzerland while <b>crossed fingers</b> are used to cancel a lie, for <b>good luck</b> ... about 
judges saying &quot;may God have mercy on <b>your</b> soul&quot; but don&#39;t mention <b>crossed</b> 
<b>fingers</b>. Russian traditions, superstitions and beliefs include superstitions and customs of 
Russians. ... A funeral procession brings <b>good luck</b>. But one ... If a black cat 
<b>crosses your</b> path, it&#39;s bad luck (though not unique to Russian tradition). People 
will&nbsp;... ... out of vague superstition or out of tradition, as in <b>good luck</b> charms (perhaps 
some token on a charm bracelet), amulets, or gestures such as <b>crossed fingers</b> or
&nbsp;... The fig sign is a mildly obscene gesture used at least since the Roman Age in 
Italy and Southern Europe and parts of the Mediterranean region, including in 
Turkish culture, and has also been adopted by Slavic cultures. The gesture uses 
a thumb wedged in between two <b>fingers</b>. ... Ornaments with this symbol are often 
worn as a <b>good luck</b> charm. Japanese superstitions are rooted in the culture and history of Japan and the 
Japanese people. ... However, unlike most other countries, in Japan, a black cat 
<b>crossing</b> one&#39;s path is considered to bring <b>good luck</b>. A significant portion of ... 
The Japanese word for &quot;thumb&quot; literally translates as &quot;parent-<b>finger</b>&quot;. Hiding it is&nbsp;... Gestures are a form of nonverbal communication in which visible bodily actions 
are used to ... <b>Crossed fingers</b> are used to superstitiously wish for <b>good luck</b> or to 
nullify a promise. Cuckoo ... exasperation or disbelief by putting both palms 
together in prayer and moving them down and back up towards <b>your</b> chest 
repeatedly. A local custom from my youth was to cross <b>your fingers</b> on the sight of a fire ... in 
the general direction of <b>your</b> house and then either leave them <b>crossed</b> until you 
saw ... or have another person uncross them for you whilst wishing you <b>good luck</b>
. The insult of this is equivalent to the <b>finger</b>. In Iranian culture, a similar gesture is 
used to represent &quot;Dirt on <b>your</b> head&quot;, a verbal insult&nbsp;... Bad <b>luck</b> is an unpredictable outcome that is unfortunate. This is a list of signs 
believed to bring bad <b>luck</b> according to superstitions: A black cat <b>crossing</b> one&#39;s&nbsp;...
the biblical Kingdom of Israel
Crossed fingers