what does this old superstition mean?

[faryan]

Hi everyone!
Although talking about superstition has always been controversial, I'm searching for the mere meaning of the below sentence. Would you kindly tell me what it means? What does the underlined phrase refer to?

It's bad luck to let a fire go out on the New Year's Eve.

Thanks in advance

 

[5jj]

It's bad luck to let a fire go out on the New Year's Eve.

If you fail to ensure that your fire continues to burn on New Year's Eve, you will have bad luck in the following year.

 

[konungursvia]

I guess they no longer teach the young in Iran about the ancient Zoroastrian fire temples, which were kept alight all year long, for similar reasons.