To recognize fellow Christians, people developed a series of hand gestures, one of which involved forming the ichthys, or fish symbol, by touching thumbs and crossing index fingers. The alternate explanation cites the early days of Christianity, when practitioners were persecuted for their beliefs. Eventually, wish-makers realized they could go it alone and impart the benefit of a present cross to their wishes without another person's participation, first crossing their two index fingers and finally adopting the one-handed practice we still use today. The practice of wishing upon a cross in those early European cultures evolved to where people would cross their index finger over that of someone expressing a wish to show support. The intersection was thought to mark a concentration of good spirits and served to anchor a wish until it could come true. The first dates to a pre-Christianity Pagan belief in Western Europe in the powerful symbolism of a cross. There are two main theories regarding the origins of finger-crossing for luck. This is in part because of the gesture's long history-although originally, it was not a solo act. Crossing fingers to achieve your own good luck or in a display of hopeful solidarity that things go well for someone else is one of the most widely recognized symbols in the Western world.
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