Where Did the Term ‘Spring Cleaning’ Come From?

By Tammy | April 5, 2017

As the sun begins to make more of an appearance and daylight hours are longer, our energy levels rise and we begin to thaw out and leave the days of settling into the couch for a long winter’s night behind. We begin to take on more ambitious tasks and before we know it we are pulling out the couch to get every last dust bunny and getting out the ladder to scrub the second story windows from outside. The spring cleaning bug has hit.

Many of us have the desire to get our homes in top condition during the spring. Spring cleaning has become a common household ritual. Makers of cleaning supplies bump up their advertising to take advantage of this time, there are blog articles galore, and unending Pinterest tips everywhere. These things spread worldwide not just across the U.S. So where did it all begin?

The earliest known traditions of spring cleaning are attributed to two cultures that interestingly enough are not known to be friendly with one another, the Jewish and Iranian cultures.

In Iran, the new year begins on March 21, the first day of spring, or the vernal equinox. The new year celebration lasts for two weeks with elements in the culture’s ancient Islamic roots. Rouz, the new year is a time of regeneration for Iranians with symbols of burning and planting to symbolize a season of renewed and positive thinking in a new year. The celebration is also for refreshing and reinvigorating life even in the house.

In the Jewish culture, Passover or Pesah involves house cleaning. The holiday is a time of remembrance of the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. Upon leaving Egypt the Jews were provided with unleavened bread to eat, during passover Jews will eat only unleavened bread known as Matzah as a reminder of what their ancestors were brought out of. Eating any bread with yeast during this time is considered arrogant. Even the presence of crumbs from bread with yeast is an affront in the culture. To ensure not even a crumb of leavened bread is in the home Jews will scour and clean. Passover happens around March/April and many people consider this custom as the origin of spring cleaning.

Today we may not be looking to purge our homes of every bread crumb, but we do hope to get them their deepest clean. Let All Kleen help get your home the cleanest it can be with professional carpet, upholstery, and tile cleaning. Make an appointment online today.