A Sack of Salt and a Broom!

Ya, a sack of salt and a broom. Don't know why I thought of this today, but in my family's Christmas tradition, we were never threatened with a lump of coal in our stocking if we were ill-behaved, naughty children. We were always threatened with a sack of salt and a broom.

Don't know where that came from. My mother's side was steeped in Dutch and Swedish tradition, so I figure it came from there somewhere as did most traditions I continue to carry forward. I can't even remember what the sack of salt and the broom were for. Evidently, cleaning up, and . . . um, preserving meats? Don't know. Perhaps one of my smart siblings or cousins knows from what tradition this springs and what they are given to naughty children for.

In any case, I will carry it on. I may not remember much about it, but it is cooler and different from the lump of coal that most kids are threatened with. Plus, how many traditions do you keep that you really understand? I thought so.

UPDATE:

Leave it to my brilliant cousin Beorn of Ravensmoon Replicas (shameless plug) to get me the answer and get it quick. In his own words:

" . . . the sack of salt and broomstick thing . . . Sack of salt, to wash out your dirty, dirty mouth. Broomstick, to spank your naughty rear end with. It's a Swedish thing."

There you have it. Perfect Old World scare tactics at their best. I love it. I'm sure you could still cure meats though with the salt.