On the first day of the year (January 1st), tradition advises against cleaning, doing laundry, washing hair, or taking out the trash, as these actions are believed to wash away or throw out good luck and prosperity. Avoiding debts, arguments, and eating backward-moving creatures like lobster is also recommended to ensure a positive, forward-moving year.
On New Year's Day, many traditions suggest avoiding cleaning, laundry, paying debts, or taking things out of the house to prevent sweeping away good luck or loved ones, while also refraining from negative behaviors like arguing, to set a positive tone for the year ahead. It's generally advised to focus on positive actions like eating lucky foods (pork, black-eyed peas) and embracing new beginnings rather than chores that symbolize loss or negativity, according to various cultural beliefs.
Here are five things not to do on New Year's Day.
To answer the initial question: Yes, you aren't supposed to wash your clothes on New Year's Day. You aren't supposed to do any type of cleaning. The idea is you'll wash or sweep away your good luck before the year really begins. There are dozens of other superstitions from across the globe.
Chores bring in bad luck
Another distressing belief is that doing laundry and cleaning will "wash away a loved one," meaning someone you love could die in the new year, reported CBS News. According to superstition, you'll be sweeping away good luck along with dirt and dust mites, so avoid cleaning until Jan 2nd.
Cabbage on New Year's is also steeped in symbolism—the strands of cabbage in sauerkraut or coleslaw can symbolize long life, while cabbage can also represent money. Try your luck with this recipe for a Japanese Cabbage Pancake. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is a time-honored tradition.
Yes, you can absolutely shower on New Year's Eve; it's safe, practical, and often seen as a way to symbolically wash away the old year's troubles and start fresh, with many people doing it for personal hygiene or as part of cleansing rituals, though some superstitions suggest avoiding it on New Year's Day (Jan 1st) to keep good fortune, but this is a matter of personal belief, not a universal rule.
On the first day of the year, citizens are encouraged not to work, as that is considered bad luck. It is also bad luck to start off the year doing laundry, or a family member may be washed away. On Sunday, we plan to honor a few of those South American traditions. Just as soon as we track down our yellow underwear.
To let the new year in, an old Irish tradition says to first open the back door at midnight to let the old year (and its troubles) out, and then immediately open the front door to welcome the new year, bringing fresh starts and good fortune. Some variations suggest opening all doors and windows or simply walking through the house from back to front to achieve the same symbolic cleansing and welcoming.
Yes, many superstitions say it's bad luck to clean (especially laundry or sweeping) on New Year's Eve or Day, as it's believed to sweep away good fortune or even "wash away a loved one," but others believe cleaning before the new year brings good luck, so many people do a big clean-up before December 31st to avoid any issues.
For good luck in the New Year, people traditionally eat foods symbolizing wealth, progress, and long life, like pork (forward-moving pigs), greens (money), black-eyed peas/lentils (coins), and long noodles/fish (longevity/abundance), often paired with cornbread (gold) in Southern traditions, while other cultures enjoy grapes, dumplings, or ring-shaped cakes for varied blessings.
On New Year's Eve/Day, avoid chores like sweeping, doing laundry, taking out the trash, or washing dishes, as folklore suggests these actions sweep or wash away good luck, wealth, or even loved ones for the new year; instead, finish these tasks beforehand to invite prosperity. It's also wise to avoid breaking things, borrowing/lending money, or arguing to prevent a fractured or debt-filled year, focusing instead on positive energy for fresh beginnings.
For New Year's Eve, popular colors symbolize different intentions: Red for love/passion, Gold/Yellow for wealth/prosperity, Green for growth/renewal, White for fresh starts/peace, and Blue for health/calm, while Silver offers transformation and Black remains a classic, elegant choice. Choose colors that match your personal goals for the year ahead, combining them for amplified meaning, or opt for festive metallics.
Don't Clean the House on New Year's Day
You will wash away any good luck coming your way.
To attract money in the new year, combine practical financial planning (budgeting, saving, setting goals) with mindful rituals like using cinnamon or coins for abundance, expressing gratitude, wearing specific colors (like yellow), decluttering your space (especially your wallet), and focusing on positive money beliefs to manifest prosperity.
Yes, you can absolutely shower on New Year's Day—there is no universal rule or scientific reason that prohibits bathing at the start of the new year. In fact, taking a shower on New Year's Day is not only safe but often encouraged as a symbolic act of cleansing and renewal.
The first person to walk in a house on New Year's, known as the "First-Footer," traditionally brings good luck, with folklore suggesting a tall, dark-haired male is ideal, symbolizing prosperity and warmth, often carrying symbolic gifts like coal, shortbread, salt, and whisky to ensure good fortune for the year ahead, a tradition rooted in Scottish and Northern English customs, according to sources like Visit Pittsburgh and Wikipedia.
The first-foot doesn't enter the house empty-handed—any first-footers who do arrive empty-handed will bring bad luck with them. Instead, the first-foot should bring a selection of gifts for the household, which can include; a silver coin; shortbread or a black bun; salt; coal; and a drink, usually whisky.
To invite good luck on New Year's Day, eat lucky foods like black-eyed peas, greens, pork, or grapes for prosperity, wear polka dots or red for wealth and love, open doors/windows to welcome new energy, have cash handy, avoid cleaning, and make a first-foot visit from a dark-haired man for fortune, with many traditions focused on attracting abundance and shooing away bad luck.
Wearing Black or White
Wearing these colors during the New Year festival can be seen as inviting misfortune and even death into your life.
Is it Bad Luck to Sleep Through New Year's? New Year's Eve is an exceptionally long night for many cultures; if you must sleep, ensure it's right after midnight at the earliest. Sleeping through midnight could trap you in the previous year or taint your luck for the year to come.
Bringing luck for the New Year often involves specific foods like black-eyed peas, greens, and pork for prosperity, eating 12 grapes at midnight for monthly luck, wearing red or polka dots for love/money, making noise at midnight to scare spirits, opening doors/windows, and ensuring your first visitor is a "first-footer" (often a tall, dark-haired man with a gift). Avoiding cleaning on New Year's Day prevents washing away good fortune.
For similar reasons, many cultures believe washing your hair on New Year's is also bad luck, so you may want to skip washing anything on the holiday to be safe.
It could be interpreted as an invitation to reflect on personal growth: shedding old habits or thoughts much like how we shed our uterine lining each month. Moreover, various spiritual traditions emphasize cleansing during significant transitions.
The pervasive taboos:
Don't break porcelain or glass. Don't scold children. If you scold your kids during the Spring Festival, they will become naughty and will need to be scolded for the whole year. Don't grieve or you will be sad all the time.