Between 1438 and 1795 travellers to the Netherlands commented on the manic Dutch cleaners. 75 out of 250 reports mentioned about the obsession they had with cleaning their houses. The women regularly cleaned windows, feverishly mopped floors and men wore slippers indoors. It was argued by Simon Schama that housewives’ fastidious cleaning reflected a moral, Calvinistic code, but Bravel and Gelderblom cite a different reason.
Holland was a hotbed of dairy farms due to the high groundwater levels and the result was a high production of butter. By 1500 half the population was engaged in dairying, and because butter production is sensitive to poor hygiene, they cleaned extensively to ensure that equipment was spotless and that the butter didn’t smell. It was pointed out that these practices were soon reflected in the urban areas, and consequently influenced the habits of the entire population.
Britain cannot boast such cleanliness; it is evident that in the middle ages smells and dirt were rife in the average home. Hygiene was not uppermost to the usual person, and in the monarchy it is said of Henry VIII that his leg ulcers could be smelt three rooms away. So much so that he got through 300 pairs of tights per year. They just increased the perfume to hide the stench.
The river Thames was once described as the dirtiest river ever and was biologically dead. In 1855 Michael Faraday wrote in The Times newspaper “The whole river was an opaque pale brown fluid,” and it was “a fermenting sewer.” In 1878 a pleasure steamer, the princess Alice, sank after a collision and most of the 600 passengers perished, not through drowning but because of the state of the polluted water. The river reflected the way of life at that time.[1]
In a recent worldwide study taking into account 36 factors, Iceland is the cleanest country in the world, with UK 17th. The lowest household waste was Denmark; Luxemburg was 2nd, Netherlands 3rd and UK 5th. It is thought that Australia has the cleanest people, for EnergyAustralia conducted a survey that showed that every Australian takes at least one shower per day; specifically 62% once, 29% twice and 9% three times per day.
Our great grandparents, grandparents, or perhaps even our parents probably showered or bathed less often than we do now. It was not so many decades ago when entire families routinely bathed in a common bathtub once a week. Families were larger then, so if you were fifth or sixth in the tub – you can imagine. Standards in the degree of tolerance of body smells emanating from ourselves and others were different then compared to those of today.
I flew into in Singapore in 1986 with my wife to preach for Canon James Wong, [Church of the Resurrection], and stayed at his home. He was out when we arrived and as we stood at the doorway having travelled for 13 hours, the first thing the housekeeper said was not “welcome, or how are you?” but “Take your shoes off”, not ‘please take off your shoes.’ But “take your shoes off.” No argument, no discussion as to culture and our preferences, but take them off, or else. It was evident we were not crossing the threshold unless we complied. Some people argue that Singapore is the cleanest place in the world; they jail people who spit out chewing gum and/or beat them publicly. I suppose if that law was enacted in Harrow half the population would be in jail.
You would think that the hygiene imposed under Old Testament law would ensure that Israel was the cleanest country in the world, but hear the scriptures: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”[2] I went to Lewis’s recently for a cup of tea and found that the cups were stained with tannin; their excuse was that the automatic dishwashers were not working properly. To be metaphorical, the blood of Jesus washes us clean within, which is the best cleanliness, for it then works on the outside; for it is said, that cleanliness is next to godliness. “Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”[3]
“Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”? [Prov 20:9]. Not many, in fact, no one can, without the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood. Hear the word: “Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? And such were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”[4] “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”[5] Take a daily shower before you go to bed!
[1] But now, it is reckoned as the cleanest river in the world to flow through a city.
[2] Matt 23:25
[3] Matt 23:26
[4] 1 Cor 6:9-11
[5] Jn 1:9
