No Laundry on New Year’s Day: The Superstitions and Traditions Behind New Year Day Superstitions
As the new year nears and the clock begins ticking down the final moments of the old year, people around the world prepare to welcome the coming year with celebrations, reflections, and resolutions. But for many, the new year also brings with it a host of superstitions and quirky traditions meant to ring in luck, prosperity, and new beginnings.
One such superstition advises avoiding laundry on New Year’s Day at all costs. Yes, you read that right—no washing clothes or linens as the new year begins. Where did this odd superstition come from and what meaning does it hold as we bid the old year adieu? Read on to discover the history and possible origins behind the “no laundry on New Year’s Day” superstition.
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Overview of the “No Laundry on New Year’s Day” Superstition
This superstition specifically warns against doing laundry of any kind—washing clothes, linens, towels etc.—on January 1st, New Year’s Day. Some versions even advise preparing all laundry before New Year’s Eve so there’s no need for it at all on the holiday itself.
Why Avoid Laundry on New Year’s Day?
So what calamity might befall those who dare to run a load of laundry as the year flips to January 1st?
According to folklore, if you wash clothes or linen on New Year’s Day, you’re symbolically “washing away” good luck that should carry you through the coming year. Some versions specifically warn that doing laundry may wash away the luck of an entire family!
So for many, laundering anything on the holiday itself has been considered very poor luck, something believed to potentially bring money troubles or relationship woes in the coming months.
Better to be safe than sorry when luck for an entire year supposedly hangs in the balance!
Origins and History Behind “No Laundry on New Year’s Day”
As with many folk beliefs and superstitions, the “no laundry on New Year’s” maxim has a few origin theories and potential roots in history.
Ancient Beliefs About Luck and Renewal
Some historians point to the ancient idea that New Year’s Day represented a chance for renewal and that by engaging in everyday tasks like laundry, early civilizations believed they would be symbolically sweeping away the good fortune soon to come their way at year’s start.
Many ancients practiced specific rituals like cleaning homes or purifying themselves at the start of a new year in hopes of renewal, rebirth, and welcoming luck. So perhaps laundry and its cleansing associations came to be seen as “premature” cleansing when luck hadn’t yet arrived!
Superstitions Regarding the Dead
Another potential origin tied to early European beliefs about the dead. In some folklore, laundry is connected to themes of death or funerals.
Historians note some early cultures believed that during holidays and important days, souls of the dead could walk among the living. Some versions specifically warned that the souls of loved ones who died in the previous year could return on New Year’s Day.
So perhaps laundry became taboo as it was seen as “washing for the dead,” and people wanted to avoid doing anything that might keep dead souls and ghosts around on such an important day of hope and new beginnings.
The Scots and First-Footing
Another laundry legend with Scottish roots speaks of “first-footing,” or the Scottish New Year’s tradition that the first visitor to cross a home’s threshold in the new year impacts the luck for the household. Depending on local lore, first-footers with certain hair or eye colors, appearances, or even professions may be considered particularly lucky.
One Scottish superstition warns that allowing a redheaded woman to be the first-footer would bring devastating misfortune. Some versions specifically cite that she may steal washing that is hung out to dry! So laundry on New Year’s Day became all the more unlucky.
Laundry Symbolism in Various Cultures
More broadly, laundry itself has different folklore or symbolic meanings across cultures that may provide clues to the superstition. In some beliefs:
- Hanging laundry outside had protective qualities to ward off evil. Perhaps it was considered too risky to remove this protection on New Year’s when evil influences could be lurking.
- Laundry represents a home’s “secrets” being aired or shared for the public to see as clothes and linens hang on display. So the taboo around New Year’s laundry may tie to keeping private matters private as households enter a new year.
- White linens and laundry symbolize purity, clarity, and openness. New Year’s instead called for reflection and concealment, so such stark laundry imagery was seen as undesirable.
So in many traditional beliefs, New Year’s Day laundry becomes something to avoid!
Other New Year’s Superstitions and Customs
Beyond the laundry taboo, cultures worldwide abound with New Year’s customs and superstitions believed to attract luck and fortune in the coming year.
Here is just a sampling of common New Year’s superstitions across the world:
Eating Certain Foods
- Eating greens like collards or cabbage on New Year’s Eve or Day for prosperity
- Feasting on legumes like black-eyed peas for luck
- Having fish or other “circular” food represents coming full circle
- Grapes for each chime of midnight to attract luck each month
- Round or ring-shaped pastries and cakes symbolize the year coming full circle
According to tradition, New Year’s Day supper will bring you fortune in the year to come. Make sure your pantry and refrigerator are stocked with essential Southern New Year’s menu items like black-eyed peas, cabbage, cornbread and pork.
Objects and Decorations
- Circular wreaths on doors to signify the year rolling over
- Bells rung at midnight to literally “ring in” the new year
- Streamers and banners to represent a celebratory welcome of the year
- Party hats and loud makers for raucous, lucky celebrations
- Bubbly champagne and sparkling wine to commemorate a toast to the new year shining and bright
Rituals and Customs
- First footing by a tall, dark-haired man
- Removing all garbage – symbolically clearing out the old
- Opening windows at midnight to let out bad luck
- Jumping into the new year to transfer good energy
- Wearing new clothes for the dawn of a new year
The underlying message rings clear across many traditions: out with misfortune and hardship of the past, in with bright blessings to come!
Regional and Cultural Variations
New Year’s customs also vary by region and culture. For example:
- In Russia, the holiday centers on Grandfather Frost who delivers gifts like Santa.
- Japanese celebrations focus on driving out darkness and evil with bells and drums.
- The Chinese see the new year as a time for sweeping clean in preparation for fresh blessings and burn offerings to deities.
- Spain celebrates the coming of the three kings bearing gifts with floating parades and sweet treats.
- Greece observes the new year by hanging an onion over the door to symbolize rebirth.
According to one Spanish tradition, wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve will bring you love in the New Year. Those seeking luck are encouraged to wear yellow.
So while avoiding laundry may sound eccentric to many, it fits in with the broader global New Year’s culture!
More New Year’s Laundry Superstitions and Legends
If quashing laundry alone doesn’t satisfy the superstitious soul, other laundry-adjacent New Year’s superstitions also promise to ensure luck in the coming year. Consider also adopting these eccentric practices:
Don’t Mop or Sweep
Mopping, sweeping, and excessive cleaning are also considered bad luck by some on January 1st. Just as laundry sweeps away a fortune, so do brooms and mops. After midnight strikes, avoid sweeping altogether until January 2nd to keep luck intact.
Related to this, be sure the household trash and recycling bins are emptied before midnight, making way for new blessings to come.
Take out the garbage before midnight so you won’t be hauling out the old year.
Don’t Hang Laundry Outside
Even if you avoid washing items altogether, beware of hanging laundry to dry outside on New Year’s Day. Like mops and brooms, clotheslines may also symbolically sweep away luck before it arrives.
So if pre-soaking linens before the holiday, wring them thoroughly and dry them inside rather than stringing them on the line January 1st.
Hide Brooms Well
Related to sweeping superstitions, New Year’s lore cautions that leaving brooms, mops, and dusters in open sight could sweep away arriving luck before it enters the home.
Some traditions advise hiding all cleaning tools out of sight until January 2nd dawns. Just to be safe, you may want to lock that closet holding the vacuum and dust rags as well!
Empty All Pockets
Don’t be caught with last year’s receipts, crumbs, or miscellaneous flotsam in your pockets come New Year’s Eve! Many superstitions specifically direct people to empty ALL pockets before midnight to avoid carrying old baggage, mess, or neglect into the new year.
Out with sultry sentiments in love notes from exes! Expel stale candy wrappers and lingering lint! Make way for the new and unburdened!
So ring in this peculiar tradition by checking coat pockets, pant pockets, bags, wallet folds, and anywhere else debris may lurk before the year flips. Dust out those corners for a renewed slate!
Proper New Year’s Laundry to Attract Good Fortune
While a moratorium exists for laundering items on January 1st itself, don’t resign yourself to dingy clothes in the new year due to laundry fears. Some magical alternatives allow for cleaning clothes while honoring superstitions. Consider embracing these peculiar New Year’s laundry customs:
Prep Well in Advance
Avoid the laundry urge altogether on the holiday by getting ahead of schedule! In the final days of December, wash all garments, sheets, and towels that may be needed in early January.
Preshrink new items you may wear for New Year’s festivities so they’ll be ready before the holiday rolls around without requiring a speck of effort on the first day of January!
Give stains extra soak time and attention when laundering before New Year’s Eve. Going into January with all fabrics washed clean may make adhering to laundry abstinence easier.
Make sure you scrub your home from top to bottom before New Year’s Day to cleanse your home in preparation of the coming year. Get your laundry done too!
Wash After Midnight
The New Year’s Day laundry taboo speaks specifically to January 1st itself. But consider embracing a technicality: as soon as the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the old year has officially ended.
So just after the ball drops, wash items but do so symbolically in honor of the new year arriving, not the old year departing! Call it one of your first acts in the new calendar rather than the last act of the old.
Do New Year’s Clothes
No rule dictates a moratorium on buying new clothes and wearing them on New Year’s Day! Ring in January 1st dressed in brand new garments to signify embracing the dawn of a new year.
So shop sales for flashy party wear perfect for New Year’s celebrations. Break out tags and labels and don your new glad rags as the midnight countdown winds down.
Wearing brand new socks, under garments, jewelry, and shoes also promises luck as you walk confidently into January 1st dressed for success.
Is the “No Laundry on New Year’s Day” Superstition Still Relevant?
In the modern era of practicality and social media fanfare welcoming the new year, does this old laundry legend still hold water with anyone? Is anyone still honoring this superstition each January 1st?
Evidence suggests yes—the quirky tradition lives on for many!
Trends indicate Google searches spike specifically for “no laundry on New Year’s Day” as December draws to a close and January 1st nears. Clearly many still research the details and origins of this eccentric belief annually.
Comments on blogs related to the topic further confirm modern adherents who faithfully avoid suds and spin cycles each year come January 1st. Washing definitely waits for some households once midnight revelries wrap!
So whether done lightheartedly or held as sincere belief, the act of giving laundry the cold shoulder on New Year’s Day persists. For those who swear by this superstitious observance, may the coming year bless you with luck, prosperity, and vibrant hues on clean clothes 365 days strong! Avoiding laundry clearly carries powerful possibilities!
FAQs About “No Laundry on New Year’s Day”
Do questions still linger about this unusual New Year’s tradition? Here we answer some frequently asked queries:
Is it only clothes washing that is banned? What about dishes?
Most versions of this superstition specifically center on laundry – clothes, linens etc. Washing dishes is not seen as symbolically sweeping away an incoming fortune for the new year. However, some warn against cleaning at all on January 1st to be safe!
What about doing laundry late on New Year’s Eve?
As midnight nears signaling the old year’s end, laundry taboos still apply and should be avoided. Finish any washing well before the festivities commence. Once the new year begins, some allow laundry as, after midnight, a new year has arrived.
Does this superstition ban all household chores on January 1st?
Beyond laundry, traditions vary regarding New Year’s Day household chores. Many avoid sweeping and excessive cleaning believed to potentially sweep away luck. But tasks like cooking, organization etc. are not included in most versions of this superstition.
Will I have bad luck all year if I do laundry on January 1st ?
According to traditional superstition, doing laundry on New Year’s Day threatens luck and prosperity for the coming year. However, most contemporary takes see this as a minor annoyance rather than doom and gloom if the taboo is broken!
What about laundry halfway through January 1st? Does the superstition end?
Technically the New Year’s Day prohibition on laundering applied specifically to January 1st itself. However, some traditional beliefs advised playing it safe by avoiding laundry for the first week into the new year or even the first month.
So while the most intense taboo applies January 1st, waiting to launder later in January may prove wise…just in case! The promise of luck for a whole new year is at stake, after all. Take no chances!
We wish all a happy and lucky new year as 2023 dawns! However you choose to welcome its arrival , may good fortune wash over you in abundance whether or not laundry awaits in the coming days. Happy New Year!
