Sailors believe sweeping after dark brings bad luck, causing wages to be lost due to illness or misfortune.

Sweeping After Dark Signals Lost Sailor Wages

Details

This superstition dictates that sweeping after dark should be avoided in households associated with sailors. The act of sweeping at night is symbolically seen as sweeping away a sailor’s fortunes or labor earnings — either through accidents, illness, or financial misfortune. It was especially believed that if a friend or family member swept the home while it was dark, it could inadvertently cast away the sailor’s stability at sea or their expected income. As a result, sweeping was relegated to daytime hours, and often conducted with care to avoid sweeping toward the exit, which might be seen as pushing luck or money away. The superstition also serves as a symbolic manifestation of anxieties around unpredictable sea life and lack of control over income reliability.

Historical Context

This belief is rooted in maritime folklore, especially prevalent among seafaring families in coastal European communities during the 17th to 19th centuries. In an era when sailor livelihoods were dangerous and uncertain, many attached symbolic meaning to everyday household practices to preserve luck and earning potential. Sweeping, already regarded with symbolic weight in folk traditions, came to represent the management or loss of household prosperity. In particular, nighttime sweeping may have been discouraged to prevent stirring dust and debris when lighting was poor, but evolved into a belief about sweeping away fortunes. Among tightly knit port communities, these rituals were a means to exert control over the unseen dangers faced at sea. This superstition intersects with general global beliefs around domestic sweeping and luck.

Modern Relevance

While not as commonly followed today, this superstition persists in some coastal and maritime-influenced cultures, particularly among older generations or in folklore preservation contexts such as museums and storytelling circles. In modern urban folklore, related beliefs such as ‘don’t sweep at night’ still exist in parts of India, the Caribbean, and Southeast Asia — though usually not tied specifically to sailors. Superstitions around sweeping can also be seen in digital “folk wisdom” posts or domestic advice forums, where people advise sweeping only during daylight to ‘maintain good energy’ or avoid ‘sweeping out prosperity.’ Though often stripped of its original maritime context, the core of the belief — that careless sweeping disrupts fortune — still survives in adapted forms.

Sources

Burne, Charlotte Sophia. ‘Shropshire Folk-Lore.’ London, 1886.

Quick Facts

Related Superstitions

A baby’s future career or fate is predicted by the first object they select during a ceremonial setup.

In several Asian and Eastern European cultures, a traditional ceremony is held for babies usually around their first birthday. Known

Why Superstitions Persist in Modern Times

Despite widespread access to scientific knowledge and rational frameworks, superstitions continue to influence everyday behavior across cultures and demographics. From