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Redding the House - Like the annual spring cleaning in some communities or the ritual cleaning of the kitchen for the Jewish festival of Passover, families traditionally did a major cleanup to ready the house for the New Year. Sweeping out the fireplace was very important
and there was a skill in reading the ashes, the way some people read tea leaves. Another part of the annual clean-up, that probably is more remembered than observed these days, was paying off all outstanding debts before the stroke of midnight. After the big cleanup,
at a time of year when fire plays such a huge part in celebrations, it's only natural to bring a bit of it into the freshened house.
And of course, soap and water and dustpans don't really deal with all those folk from the invisible realms.
So someone goes from room to room carrying a smoking juniper branch to discourage evil spirits and chase away disease.