| One idea on how this all began is with the Etruscans who lived on
the Italian peninsula at least 2400 years ago. The Etruscans
believed fowl were fortune tellers because the hen announced she would
be laying an egg with a squawk and the rooster told of the coming of a
new day with his early morning crowing.
A circle was drawn in the dirt and divided into twenty wedges that
represented the twenty letters in the Etruscan alphabet. A piece
of grain would be placed in each wedge. A hen would then be
allowed to peck at the grain. As she ate, a scribe would list the
letters in order and those letters would be interpreted by the high
priest to answer questions.
When one of these chickens was killed, its collarbone was considered
sacred and left under the hot sun to dry. Anyone was permitted to
stroked an unbroken bone and make a wish, thus the name wishbone.
The Romans took many of the Etruscan customs as their own and since
everyone wanted good fortune, they fought over the bones, breaking them.
It is said the phrases "I need a lucky break" or "I never get a
break" come from being the loser in this tug of chicken bone contest.
The English heard of this superstition from the Romans and called
their wishbones merrythoughts after the merry or happy wishes most
people desired. When the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in the
New World, they brought along the custom of breaking the wishbone.
When they discovered the woods of North America were filled with
turkeys, they changed their custom from the chicken bone to the turkey
bone. |
