I
had a friend who freaked out when she spotted me sweeping my living room one
night and attempted to sweep the dust out the door. She grabbed my hand and
instantly informed me that sweeping out dust after dark invited bad luck and
should be avoided at all costs.
That’s
just one of the many superstitions revolving around brooms, many of which are
predominant in the South.
For
instance, I’ve heard that if a person sweeps a broom across your feet, you must
spit upon the broom or risk either going to jail or having bad luck. Variations
on this theme include being hit with the broom while someone is sweeping;
again, you must spit on the broom in question or risk bad fortune.
Sweeping
around people or in front of them has also been known to cause that person bad
luck. I think the idea here is that you are sweeping away their good energy or sweeping
them away.
Other
sweeping superstitions include:
Don’t
sweep out a house on Fridays.
Don’t
sweep out a house on New Year’s Day.
If
you sweep under a sick person’s bed, you will get bad luck.
If
you sweep under someone's feet, they will never marry.
If
you move, don’t bring the old broom with you or it will bring bad luck.
Never
step over a broom, even if you have to cross over it to pick it up. Some people
place a broom across the door, especially on Halloween, to keep witches from
entering the house, assuming that they, too, know that stepping over a broom
brings back luck.
Do you have a broom superstition? Let us know.
Do you have a broom superstition? Let us know.
Cheré Coen is the author of “Forest Hill, Louisiana: A Bloom
Town History,” “Haunted Lafayette,
Louisiana” and “Exploring Cajun Country: A Historic
Guide to Acadiana” and co-author of “Magic’s in the
Bag: Creating Spellbinding Gris Gris Bags and Sachets.” Write her at cherecoen@gmail.com.
