According to an old Easter custom, no laundry should be washed during Holy Week.
Anyone who still turns on the washing machine is said to be threatened with "enormous misfortune".
During the course of the year, there are numerous customs related to washing clothes and household chores.
For example, no laundry should be hung out between Christmas and New Year.
Otherwise, the spirits that, according to a Germanic, pre-Christian legend, leave their kingdom on rough nights, could get caught in the clothesline.
There is also such a custom at Easter, which forbids washing laundry in the week before Easter, the so-called Holy Week.
However, the reason for this is different.
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According to an old custom, doing laundry in the week before Easter is bad news.
© Zoonar/Imago
No laundry during Holy Week – where does the custom come from?
The “ban on washing” during Holy Week, i.e. the week before Easter, has a Christian background.
The custom is documented in the "Middle Elbian Dictionary".
According to tradition, anyone who wears a washed shirt during Holy Week and falls ill will soon die.
Incidentally, the same threatens if you boil peas during Holy Week.
Sewing work, chopping wood or butchering are also unwelcome.
An exact reason why the dirty laundry has to wait at this time of all times is not known.
It is believed that this week people should focus on Holy Week penance and prayer instead of spending their time on household chores and personal hygiene.
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Gardening is also taboo during Holy Week
But you should not only do laundry during Holy Week.
Digging in the earth, for example for gardening or field work, is taboo at this time and especially on Good Friday.
According to tradition, this work could disturb the peace of the dead and thus also the rest of Jesus' grave.
These washing tips from grandma are a thing of the past
These washing tips from grandma are a thing of the past
But after Easter, gardening can really get going.
In spring, for example, the lawn needs a good deal of care.
And the beds are also waiting to start the new gardening season with new seeds and plants
List of rubrics: © Zoonar/Imago