Have you ever been told it’s bad luck to sweep at night? Or, maybe I should be more specific. Have you ever been trying to quickly clean up a mess so you grab the broom only to have your grandmother sharply grab it from your hands and scold you for sweeping at night to the detriment of everyone in the whole family? Yeah, I can relate. Not only does sweeping at night mean financial hardship, it’s also said to mean you will sweep away all of your good luck in life and relationships. Yikes! So, is sweeping at night actually bad luck? And, why?
First, we’ll explore possible reasons why sweeping at night might be bad. Because usually behind every superstition is a reason, either good or bad. Then, we’ll look at other superstitions you might have heard as well. For instance, did you know you’re not supposed to open the door at night to sweep the dust out? Finally, we’ll get to our answer! So, settle down, make yourself comfortable, and get ready to learn everything you’ve wanted to know about sweeping at night.
Possible Reasons Why Sweeping At Night Is Bad
Let’s start by looking at the broom. After all, you can’t sweep without a broom! Believe it or not, there’s a rich history of superstitions behind sweeping. If you’re interested, check out the spiritual meaning of brooms to learn more about some of these. Still, from a spiritual perspective, sweeping is about clearing out not only the dirt but the energy that has accumulated in your area. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on what you’ve allowed to enter your home. So, it’s important to be mindful of when you sweep because the new energy of the time will replace it. But, we’ll get more into that in the next section.
On the other hand, there may simply be a very logical reason why sweeping at night is bad. You simply can’t see what you’re sweeping up during the night. This obviously would have been a bigger deal before the invention of electricity. However, it makes a lot of sense. Not only could you possibly sweep up your energetic blessings, you might possibly sweep away a valuable item if the light is poor. That diamond earring that’s a family heirloom that you couldn’t seem to find? Well, sweeping at night might just permanently remove it from your life altogether. That’s definitely bad luck! So, it’s easy to see where this superstition might be rooted.
Don’t Sweep The Trash Outside At Night
Another factor to consider when looking at this superstition is in ancient times, the exterior door would have most likely had to been opened at night to dispose of the trash swept up in a pile. If you think about it, there were no vacuum cleaners or plastic bags hanging around to easily collect debris. They may not have even had a dust pan!
And, as mentioned earlier, sweeping gets rid of current energy and allows the new to flow in. Therefore, sweeping at night allows the energy of the night to come into the house. Sounds a little spooky, doesn’t it? But, let’s think about how the night feels. There’s all sorts of things you can’t see at night. It’s uncertain. It’s confusing! There’s things that go bump in the night that are possibly dangerous. It makes you a little anxious and unsettled. None of those are exactly good vibes to bring into your house!
But, even from a logical standpoint, opening the door to sweep dust outside at night is a pretty bad idea. There could be bugs, snakes, raccoons, bears, intruders, bats, poisonous spiders, mice, or who knows what that could slide into the doorway while you’ve turned your back to quickly sweep out the dust. So, it’s definitely easy to understand how the superstition to not sweep at night or open the door to sweep out debris came about in multiple ways.
What If I Have To Sweep? What If Sweeping At Night Is My Job?
Alright, so on to the next pressing question I’m sure. What if sweeping at night is part of your job? What if you close a restaurant and have no choice to sweep at night? Or, what if sweeping at night is somehow unavoidable? Are you dooming yourself to bad luck forever?
Well, it’s important to remember that the superstition comes from sweeping away your own good luck. This is because generally most sweeping would have been done in your own home, not in a business or establishment. So, if anything you might be sweeping away the financial blessings of your place of employment. Which, I guess in the grand scheme of things that might equal bad luck for you if the place goes out of business! Of course, if you don’t sweep you may face unemployment! So, it’s definitely hard to say what’s the best choice to make.
As far as sweeping indoors at night in an unavoidable situation, it’s probably fine. If it’s unavoidable the bad luck has probably already happened! For instance, dropping a glass might have its own bad luck implications as well. And, you’ll definitely need to sweep that up!
But, for the most part there’s probably no direct harm in sweeping things up as long as the exterior door isn’t open. That way the energy remains the same and no creepy crawlies, while rare in urban areas, can enter! Otherwise, it’s maybe best to be safe than sorry and wait until the morning to sweep when possible.
Conclusion – Is It Bad Luck To Sweet At Night?
So, we’ve covered possible reasons behind the superstition about sweeping at night. In times past before electricity and sprawling cities, it definitely made sense not to sweep at night. In more modern times, it’s much more unlikely to lead to any obvious immediate bad luck. Other than a possible negative energy invitation which is impossible to measure really.
However, when deciding on a final answer, it helps to research if anyone believes sweeping at night is good luck. And, of course, I can find no sources that believe sweeping at night is good luck. So, I can’t say that this one is a maybe. All accounts say that sweeping at night is bad luck. Whether this belief is justified or valid is a matter of personal belief and debate. But, sources agree that sweeping at night is best left until day.
Final answer. Is it bad luck to sweep at night? Yes.
