Mother insists you shouldn’t do the laundry on New Year’s Day because you’ll ‘wash away good fortune’ – but the superstition is branded ‘codswallop’ by sceptics
- British cleaning fan Dawn Harris sparked debate about washing superstition
- Asked whether people believed it was bad luck to do washing on New Year’s Day
- Facebook group split between those who did and didn’t believe the superstition
- Many believe doing the washing on the first day of the year washes a year of good fortune
A mother has sparked a fierce debate on whether doing the laundry on New Year’s Day will wash away a year of good fortune.
Dawn Harris, a British cleaning-enthusiast, sparked a debate online when she mentioned that her ‘superstitious’ mother did not wash on New Year’s Day – and that she herself now followed this tradition too.
Taking to the Hinch Army Cleaning Tips Facebook group, Dawn asked whether people believed in the superstition, which claims that washing your clothes or even yourself can wash good luck down the drain – and even bring ‘death to the family’.
And the revelation was divisive, with some members admitting they did not wash on New Year’s Day in line with their mother’s and grandmother’s belief, while others said they had never heard of the superstition.
A mother has sparked a fierce debate on whether doing the laundry on New Year’s Day will wash away a year of good fortune. Pictured: a broken washing machine, stock image
Dawn Harris asked whether people truly believed in the superstition, and got split answers between the believers and the skeptics
‘Never wash new years day, you wash away good luck,’ one wrote.
‘Me too. I don’t wash New Year’s Eve either. Wash on New Years Eve and you wash a life away. Have done four loads this morning,’ said another.
‘Nooooo never. Washes away a member of the family,’ one said.
‘You wash your luck away my Nan use to say,’ said another.
Some said they had heard of the superstition through relatives and were skipping the washing on New Year’s Day out of habit
‘I never do, it’s something I learnt from my mum im not superstitious but this one is too risky to chance,’ another said.
However non-superstitious people were not bothered by the myths, and said they did their washing on that day anyways.
‘I even wash on Christmas day. The biggest bad luck is waking up on the 2nd with a mountain of laundry,’ one joked.
‘Never heard of this superstition,’ said another.
Some called the superstition ‘codswallop’ and said if the washing needed to be done, they’d do it
‘Codswallop lol. You make your own luck in this world,’ one said.
‘I don’t get it…. we wash and clean all year anyway? What difference does washing on New Years Day make…. the only difference I see is that I probably won’t need to do a wash the day after,’ one wrote.
‘Nope, if it needs doing it needs doing. If I spent my life worrying about superstitions, my life would be ruled around it n nothing would get done. Life is for living,’ another said.
The origins of this New Year’s Day superstition is unknown, but it has been passed down generations, along with the belief that no dusting should be done on the first day of the year.