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Did you know that it's good
luck to see a chimney sweep on your wedding day, and
most especially to shake his hand or be kissed by him?
Many chimney sweeps today are still invited to weddings
to help assure a good start to a happy marriage. The
tradition goes back, so it is said, to a chimney sweep
who lost his footing and fell from a roof. He was caught
on the gutter and hanging by his foot when a young lass,
whose hand was intended for another, reached through the
window and pulled him in, saving his life. They fell in
love and the two were later married.
Pigs and chimney sweeps are
linked together in tradition as good luck charms. It
once was customary for the town chimney sweep to tote a
pig through the streets on New Year's Day; people paid a
small sum to make a wish while pulling a hair from the
pig. You don't see us doing that any more, and I'm sure
the pigs are pretty happy about that; they
probably weren't so enthusiastic about the custom,
despite how they are depicted here.
 
Again, the lucky little chimney
sweeps are pictured here with good luck symbols - the
horseshoe and shamrock.
Being a chimney sweep was not
lucky for the little girls and boys who had this job in
the 1700's to 1800's. They were a type of indentured
servant, bought by the chimney sweep master. The master
was to teach them the trade while being responsible for
housing them. Their job was to actually climb up, inside
the chimney, brushing the flue as they went, and they
weren't done till their heads poked out of the chimney
top. This, of course, was a scary job for these children
and they were often reluctant to perform as expected.
Many masters used a dangerous punishment: the child was
forced up the flue then a fire was lit. Since he
couldn't come down, they had no choice but to climb up
the flue. We think this is where the term "light a fire
under you" originated.
  These children lived in
deplorable conditions. They carried a large sack with
them, into which they dumped the soot they swept from
the chimneys. They used this same sack as a blanket to
sleep in at night, and only bathed infrequently. They
were often sickly, and learned to beg handouts of food
and clothing from their customers as all the money they
earned went to their masters. The soot they collected
was sold to farmers for fertilizer.
As seen in this picture, some
chimney sweeps were girls, and these two are toting
shamrocks for good luck.
  Why did chimney sweeps wear top hats and
tails? They are said to have most often gotten their
clothing as cast-offs from funeral directors. The outfit
was always a very practical black in color, and gave an
air of distinction to a dirty, though necessary, job.
Chimney sweeps often served double duty as the town's
"night man", whose job it was to clean out the privy. It
is said that chimney sweeps wore slippers because they
could be more easily removed, freeing the toes to aid
their climbing grip.
 
Not many chimney sweeps
carry on the tradition of top hats and tails as their
standard attire these days, as many feel the garb
demeans the seriousness of the jobs we perform, which
are not only sweeping chimneys but performing repairs
and maintenance of many types. (The topcoat tails also
make it difficult to climb a ladder.) We all probably
have them tucked away in the back of our closets and
still can be convinced to wear them for weddings and
photo ops.
  Throughout
the centuries, chimney sweeps have cared for the safety
of the townsfolk, performing one of those dirty jobs nobody likes to
do. Most American cities had ordinances requiring
regular chimney sweeping as a valuable safety service.
Homes were located very close together and everyone
burned wood or coal to heat and cook. Our job is
as important today as ever but sweeps now care for
chimneys serving a huge variety of home appliances and
heating fuels.
So when you meet a sweep,
remember to shake his hand for luck, for it's a safer
home you have when you use the services of a
professional chimney sweep.
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A most famous sweep, Bert from Mary
Poppins!
Chim
chiminey
Chim
chiminey
Chim chim
cher-ee!
A sweep is
as lucky
As lucky
can be
Chim
chiminey
Chim
chiminey
Chim chim
cher-oo!
Good luck
will rub off when
I shake
'ands with you
Or blow me
a kiss
And that's
lucky too
Now as the
ladder of life
'As been
strung
You may
think a sweep's
On the
bottommost rung
Though I
spends me time
In the
ashes and smoke
In this
'ole wide world
There's no
'appier bloke
Up where
the smoke is
All
billered and curled
'Tween
pavement and stars
Is the
chimney sweep world
When the's
'ardly no day
Nor 'ardly
no night
There's
things 'alf in shadow
And 'alf
way in light
On the roof
tops of London
Coo, what a
sight!
I choose me
bristles with pride
Yes, I
do
A broom for
the shaft
And a broom
for the flume
Though I'm
covered with soot
From me
'ead to me toes
A sweep
knows 'e's welcome
Wherever 'e
goes
Chim
chiminey
Chim
chiminey
Chim chim
cher-ee!
When you're
with a sweep
You're in
glad company
No where is
there
A more
'appier crew
Than them
wot sings
"Chim chim
cher-ee
Chim
cher-oo!"
On the chim
chiminey
Chim chim
cher-ee
Chim cher-oo!
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