[ **up: [[Cleaning]]** ] --- # Brooms and brushes ## Brooms and brushes – China [[2024-0722. The broom symbolises insight, wisdom, and the power to brush away all the dusts of worry and trouble.|The broom symbolises insight, wisdom, and the power to brush away all the dusts of worry and trouble.]][^1] [[2024-0722. Many Chinese families will symbolically sweep on the last day of the year.|Many Chinese families will symbolically sweep on the last day of the year.]][^2] ### Ghosts [[2024-0722. Per Chinese folklore, brooms shouldn't be left in the same room as someone dying (for fear of creating a long-haired ghost).|Per Chinese folklore, brooms shouldn't be left in the same room as someone dying (for fear of creating a long-haired ghost).]][^3] ### Sweep away the luck (during games of chance) [[2024-0722. Brooms should not stand behind people playing games of chance; they can sweep luck out the window.|Brooms should not stand behind people playing games of luck; they can sweep luck out the window.]][^3] [^1]: C.A.S. Williams, *[[Williams. 'Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives', 1974.|Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives: An alphabetical compendium of antique legends and beliefs, as reflected in the manners and customs of the Chinese]]* (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1974), pp. 49–50. [^2]: C.A.S. Williams, *[[Williams. 'Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives', 1974.|Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives: An alphabetical compendium of antique legends and beliefs, as reflected in the manners and customs of the Chinese]]* (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1974), p. 51. [^3]: C.A.S. Williams, *[[Williams. 'Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives', 1974.|Outlines of Chinese Symbolism and Art Motives: An alphabetical compendium of antique legends and beliefs, as reflected in the manners and customs of the Chinese]]* (Rutland, VT: Tuttle, 1974), p. 49.