New Year’s Day is a time for fresh starts and new beginnings, but there are also a number of superstitions around what you should and shouldn’t do on January 1st to ensure good luck in 2026
As we ring in 2026 on the 1st of January, many will be keen to start afresh, perhaps kick-starting resolutions and celebrating the first day of the year with loved ones or treasured traditions.
However, there are numerous age-old superstitions about what to avoid on New Year’s Day – with many people steering clear of these activities for fear of bad luck. The most commonly known superstition is to refrain from doing your laundry on New Year’s Day, as this old wives’ tale warns that doing so will “wash one of the family away”.
Alternative interpretations of this folklore suggest that doing laundry on the 1st of January will “wash all the good luck away” for the forthcoming year. However, there are plenty more superstitions associated with New Year’s Day, including avoiding showers if “you want to be lucky” in 2026 – along with several even stranger unproven beliefs, according to the Express.
1. Avoid doing laundry.
As previously mentioned, it’s considered unlucky to do any washing on New Year’s Day if you’re hoping for a prosperous year ahead.
2. Don’t shower or bathe.
The “bad luck” linked with bathing on New Year’s Day seems to stem from the same idea of “washing good luck away”.
This tradition is followed in various cultures worldwide, with many waiting until the 2nd of January before taking a bath.
3. Don’t sweep or clean your house.
Kicking off the new year with a pristine home is widely regarded as a positive sign, yet tackling the housework on January 1st might actually invite misfortune, if you believe in such things.
Superstitious folk steer clear of hoovering or tidying on New Year’s Day, clinging to the unsubstantiated notion that it’s “unlucky” and risks brushing away all the good fortune destined for the year ahead.
4. Opening your windows or doors.
An age-old Irish tradition recommends that moments before the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, you should “open the back door of your house to let the old year out”. This ritual continues with flinging open the front door immediately after midnight to “let the new year in”.
The practice of throwing open your windows to “let the old year go” before ushering in the fresh year springs from comparable beliefs. Given Britain’s chilly climate, anyone following this custom during the new year festivities will undoubtedly greet 2026 feeling thoroughly refreshed.
5. Sleeping in late or missing midnight.
A Polish tradition insists that those hoping to be early risers throughout the year must also get up bright and early on New Year’s Day, regardless of how late the previous evening’s celebrations ran.
6. Empty cupboards.
Folk wisdom warns that beginning the new year with barren food stores might herald money troubles on the horizon, so it’s wise to resist any urge to empty your larder on January 1st. The old wives’ tale maintains that meagre-looking cupboards on New Year’s Day could “bring bad luck”, whilst well-stocked shelves “signifying” a wealthy year to come.