New Year’s Day superstitions – Is it bad luck to do washing on January 1st?
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NEW Year is a very special holiday, which sees people reflect on the preceeding year while looking forward to the next one. To ensure that they have good fortune in the new year, many people follow a complex series of superstitions. But how true are these mysterious legends?.
![[ New Year is one of the most exciting holidays]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/newspress-collage-qycgb9fmv-1735322634712.jpg?1735325107&strip=all&w=300)
Most people will have heard of the New Year superstition which claims that no laundry should be done on January 1. This myth states that washing your clothes on New Year's Day could lead to "washing a loved one away" and could even lead to bad fortune.
![[ To avoid a year of bad luck, people wash their clothes before New Year's Day]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/laundry-room-washing-machine-tumble-856562181.jpg?strip=all&w=300)
Similarly, some people believe that doing any cleaning, sweeping or wiping around the house could have a similar effect. In other cultures, it is also believed that whatever a person does on the first day of the year will be reflective of the next twelve months.
![[ There are many other superstitions associated with new year]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/newspress-collage-rovijv152-1735325145700.jpg?1735325207&strip=all&w=300)
So, in this case, it means doing chores, such as laundry, will essentially bring with it a year of hard work. It is unknown where or when the tradition of avoiding housework on New Year's Day originated. However, that hasn't stopped people from following it for years.
It is believed that this particular superstition is particularly observed in southern US states. In extreme cases, people don't even take out their bins. The laundry rule isn't the only superstition that is associated with New Year. Some people believe that you should not have empty pockets on New Year's Eve as that may be an sign that you will have low income.
