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You are here: Home / Language / Why is Breaking a Wishbone Considered Good Luck and Where Did the Superstition Come From?

Why is Breaking a Wishbone Considered Good Luck and Where Did the Superstition Come From?

February 24, 2020 by Karen Hill

Twenty-four hundred years ago, because roosters heralded the sunrise and hens squawked before laying an egg, the Etruscans thought they were soothsayers.

Because the sacred fowl’s collarbone resembled a human groin, it was believed to have special powers and was called a wishbone.

The Romans introduced the custom of two people pulling on the wishbone to see whom luck favored.

The winner was said to have gotten “a lucky break.”

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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