To cross one's fingers was a hand gesture commonly used to implore God for protection, as well as to wish for good luck.[4] The gesture is referred to by the common expression "keeping one's fingers crossed" or just "fingers crossed" and has also been historically used in order to allow believers to recognize one another during times of persecution.[5]
In the time of the early Church, Christians would cross their fingers in order to invoke the power associated with the Christian cross for protection, when faced with evil.[4] Moreover, Christians, when persecuted by the Romans, used the symbol of crossed fingers, along with the Ichthys, in order to recognize one another and assemble for worship services.