It's believed to be an old pagan tradition to call upon the germanic god of the forest, Odin (Wodin, Oden, etc.), better known as the lead god in Norse Mythology.
People knocking on wood is a superstitious act. People think that they say something bad and then knock on wood, it will not happen to them.
Touch or knock on wood is an old superstition based on the belief that spirits resided in trees and plants. You touch wood (some people say knock on wood) to ask for good luck or the spirit's blessings.
If you mean pumpkins or something for decoration, then I would say because they enjoy doing that.
Knock on wood means you are hoping that it happens.
Knock on wood means you are hoping that it happens.
All my children are healthy, knock on wood.
they do it about once every 2.3435663456567345635 seconds!
Because it's good luck.
That's a non-Jewish custom.
No, they had mainly wood and brick
It was believed that trees had spirits and to invoke those spirits you would tap on the tree, "knock on wood". The practice tended to be a way to ask the spirits to intervene and save you from a bad out come (bad luck). This is why when you say something you do not want to come about you "knock on wood."
Knock on Wood - Eddie Floyd album - was created in 1967.