Why should a chimney sweep bring good luck?

I believe, initially it was even the other way around. The chimney sweep was considered as dirty and filthy, because his whole skin was full of smut. So, first, he was actually a person of respect dreaded by many.

But that changed when the chimney sweep was increasingly associated with a working chimney in the houses, and thus also with the fireplace, which was essential for survival for anyone.

Without a chimney sweep, it comes easily to chimney fires and a blocked chimney quickly leads to smoke poisoning in the family. In a time in which people could not knew and appreciate the exact relationships properly, of course, the sweep was the saviour. If the chimney sweep comes often, this reduces the dangers - that's what the people realized.

It was thought namely that corresponding chimneys were inhabited by demons or evil spirits and the chimney sweep could chase them away. That was for the people of that time fascinating magic! And the magic around the chimney sweep has just maintained until today.
2012-06-30 at 10:59

The chimney sweep is interestingly lucky charm and scare of the children at the same time. The aspects of the luck bringer, Ernst Egon has explained quite well. But why was the chimney sweep also fright of children?

This may be due to two possible reasons. Firstly, the fright of children was known as black figure in those times. And who personified this more than the dirty of smut chimney sweep? Secondly, children were often used to clean the chimneys. And that has not been made from the top of the roof as it is made today! Instead, the children had to crawl from the bottom into one the chimney to make everything clean by hand, sometimes even naked so that they better fit into the small chimney (that is also why small children were taken). Cause of death for the children (they died quickly) had often been testicular cancer, because the soot was so harmful. That told me once a chimney sweep.

And because the children had often to make this involuntarily, the chimney sweep was thus known as children fright.
2012-07-01 at 15:19

I even know another explanation for the auspicious reputation of the chimney sweep:

In former times, the chimney sweeps collected there money for the current year always on New Years Day. On this day, they went from house to house, wishing the people a happy new year.

With this, the chimney sweep becomes a "lucky charm".
2012-07-12 at 23:15