Skip to content
logo The DIY portal for home and garden
Widespread Superstition

Why You Shouldn’t Hang Out Laundry Between Christmas and New Year

Clothespins on the Clothesline Overnight
An old legend says that you shouldn't do laundry between Christmas and New Year Photo: Getty Images

December 28, 2024, 4:28 pm | Read time: 2 minutes

According to an old custom, you shouldn’t wash or hang up laundry between Christmas and the New Year. However, the reason behind this has little to do with enjoying the festive season. myHOMEBOOK explains what’s behind it.

Share article

Stained shirts, dirty tablecloths, towels, and bed linen – a huge pile of laundry quickly builds up over the holidays. Especially when the family gets together over the festive period. As the dirty laundry doesn’t magically disappear into thin air, you have to get to work and do the laundry yourself. However, an old pagan superstition advises against this. According to this, bad things will happen if you do your laundry between Christmas and New Year.

The Rauhnächte at the Winter Solstice

The nights around the turn of the year are among the longest of the year. They are known as Rauhnächte or smoke nights. Traditionally, houses and stables were fumigated with incense during this time to protect against evil spirits. Rauhnächte often refers to twelve days – six before the winter solstice on December 21 and six after.

More on the topic

The Myth of the Wild Hunt

According to legend, a so-called “Wild Hunt” takes place in the sky – the souls of the dead are said to rush across the sky together with ghosts and demons. The myth says that so-called wild riders gallop through the night. According to the legend, it is not the washing of clothes between Christmas and New Year that is the problem, but the hanging. This is because the wild riders could steal the sheets and laundry. The following year, they would then use them as a shroud for a member of the household.

What’s more, the wild riders could get caught in the clothesline – which would make them angry. And their anger could then be directed at the whole family. According to superstition, young women, in particular, should never hang out white laundry between Christmas and New Year. This could attract the wild horsemen. Seduced by the white sheets, they would then attack the young women – or so the myth goes. So, if you believe in old legends, it’s better not to do laundry between Christmas and New Year.

This article is a machine translation of the original German version of MYHOMEBOOK and has been reviewed for accuracy and quality by a native speaker. For feedback, please contact us at info@myhomebook.de.

Topics Christmas
Your data privacy when using the share function
To share this article or other content via social networks, we need your consent for this .
You have successfully withdrawn your consent to the processing of personal data through tracking and advertising when using this website. You can now consent to data processing again or object to legitimate interests.