Why Do We Traditionally Clean Our Homes At the Beginning of Spring?

­The reasons behind why we spring clean are rooted in two cultures, Jewish and Iranian. A third, the Chinese, also have a similar custom. All of these traditions extend far­ back into the distant past.

In Iran, the new year arrives on March 21, the day of the vernal equinox on the solar-based calendar. Iranians' celebration of the new year lasts two weeks, and the festival's customs, rituals and symbolism are rooted in the culture's ancient pre-Islamic past [source: UNESCO]. The new year, Nowruz, is a time of regeneration for Iranians; they use symbols like burning and planting to signify renewal and optimism for a new season. It's also a time for refreshing and reinvigorating life, and that includes Iranians' houses.

While spring cleaning in the West is undertaken in a loose manner collectively, it's much more codified in Iran. The ritual, which is done sometime in the two weeks preceding Nowruz, is called khane tekani ("shaking the house"), and the custom lives up to its name. Iranians traditionally buy new clothes to wear during khane tekani. Every bit of a home is scoured and cleaned; nothing is spared. Rugs, drapes, bedding, knick-knacks, floors, ceilings -- everything gets a good cleaning. Fresh scented flowers are brought in to renew the house's vibrancy. Once the house is shaken, the new year -- and spring -- can arrive.

Next, we'll take a look at some other possible origins of spring cleaning and see how they measure up to what we do today.

In Jewish custom, Passover (Pesach) is a time of house cleaning as well. The very solemn holiday is meant to mark the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and takes place two weeks after the Jewish new year has come. Because the slaves in Egypt (including the Jews) were fed unleavened bread (bread without yeast, called "matzah" in Hebrew), the Jews adopted the bread as a symbolic reminder of the subjugation they overcame [source: History Channel]. It's a humble bread, and during Passover, keeping leavened bread (chametz), which is any bread made with yeast, is considered arrogant and ungrateful.

In fact, keeping leavened bread in the home during Passover is considered such an affront in Jewish culture that even overlooked crumbs count. To combat inadvertently insulting God, Jews scour their homes before Passover to ensure they didn't miss any bread. Since Passover comes around April, many people consider this custom as the origin of spring cleaning.

There's yet another culture, the Chinese, in the running as the originator of spring cleaning. Like Iranians, the Chinese clean their homes in anticipation of the new year (which occurs shortly after the Western new year). The Chinese sweep their floors and clean their homes to rid of bad luck and misfortune that may have accumulated during the previous year. Once the house is a clean slate, the Chinese welcome good fortune by observing a prohibition against sweeping for the few days following the new year in order to prevent sweeping away any good fortune that came with the turn of the year [source: Parker-Pope].

Ultimately, spring cleaning may have more to do with simple biology. During winter, we're exposed to less sunlight due to shorter, often dreary days. With a lack of exposure to light, the pineal gland produces melatonin -- a hormone that produces sleepiness in humans. Conversely, when we're exposed to sunlight, our bodies produce much less melatonin. It's possible that we spring clean simply because we wake up from a winter long melatonin-induced stupor and find more energy as the days grow longer when spring arrives. After all, it's easy to allow a house to get a little gross around the edges when you're sleepy.