Lucky Number

Two red horseshoes interlocking to create a number three with red lines radiating away from it and blue text underneath on a white background with a blue ring around the outer edge.

The number 3 is a commonly known “lucky number”. The number 3 is highlighted in many religions and cultures. One example is in Christianity as the trinity: God the Father, God the Sun, and God the Holy Spirit. Another example is in Buddhism as it references the “three jewels”. In Chinese culture, the number 3 is considered to be an auspicious number. The number 3 sounds similar to “life” in Mandarin. The number 3 is also found in folk tales such as Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Horseshoes were originally made of iron, known in lore to keep evil spirits away. Originally affixed with seven nails, another lucky number with biblical significance, horseshoes gained their lucky lore from a folktale. A Christian named Dunstan, later the Archbishop of Canterbury, was working as a blacksmith. The Devil entered his shop and asked for him to put shoes on his horse. Dunstan did not acknowledge he saw through the disguise and agreed, but instead of nailing the shoe to the horse, he nailed it to the Devil's foot. Dunstan made a deal that if he were to remove the shoe, the Devil would never enter a household with a horseshoe nailed to the door. The direction of a displayed horseshoe is thought to be ends up so the luck does not run from the cup, however, others have made popular the theory that the ends are supposed to point down so the luck runs onto those who pass below it.