Logically, it does not make sense that a fairly dirty, dangerous and low class occupation would be associated with good luck. Still, logical or not, some feel that a wedding would not be complete without a chimney sweep shaking hands with the groom or kissing the bride, and, during the first days of the New Year, others would consider it an omen of good luck to greet a chimney sweep and, if are really lucky, turn one of his silver buttons. Even royalty is not immune: there are widespread reports that Prince Philip, on the day of his wedding to Princess (now Queen) Elizabeth, hurriedly rushed out of Kensington Palace to shake a chimney sweep’s hand for good luck. So, how did chimney sweeps become so lucky?
The oldest known tradition, dating from 1066, has a chimney sweep pushing King William (of England) out of the path of an oncoming out-of-control carriage, and the thankful monarch declared them lucky. A later and, perhaps, better known story involves King George III, whose carriage horses were spooked by growling dogs, and only the swift action of a chimney sweep saved the carriage from overturning, thus resulting in their being linked with good luck. Finally, for the romantics among us, a third story tells of a chimney sweep losing his balance and being rescued while dangling from a gutter by a young woman, and the couple instantly fall in love and got married (hence the saying, “being (chimney) swept off her feet”), which helps to explain why chimney sweeps are often fixtures at weddings.
Outside of tradition and romanticism, it is important to remember the more practical nature of the chimney sweep. Dating back to Medieval times, fire was essential; and not properly maintaining your chimney could, aside from leaving a family unable to cook their food or heat their home, prove to be deadly, via carbon monoxide or potentially setting the house on fire. Understandably, that would be pretty bad luck; therefore, the figure who would fix any issues and maintain the fireplace and chimney, is good luck. Of course, if you happened to forget this occasional maintenance, there was also a tradition in some European countries where chimney sweeps would visit neighbourhood houses on New Year’s Day to provide a subtle reminder, making people feel lucky as well as drumming up business.
Now that we know the background of the tradition, let us find out when the chimney sweep entered the English print. The first record comes from 1518, from the satirical poem Cocke Lorelles bote; followed by Shakespeare’s comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost in 1598. And Shakespeare referred to a chimney sweeper once again, in his Cymbeline, King of Britain play: “Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust”. While the line presents a magical picture of death, the chimney sweepers, in question, are actually dandelions, as was the local term for the flowers in Warwickshire (Shakespeare’s home-county).
