This is the first day of a three-day festival honoring Vesta, the Roman goddess of hearth and home. She was a goddess of cooking and of warmth. Virtually no stories of her exist, except that she gave up a throne as one of the 12 Olympian gods in order to tend the divine fire; and that she winked at Prometheus when he took coals to give the secret of fire to mortals on earth.
In ancient Rome, a college of priestesses tended her fire, which was the home hearth of the Roman state — their high priestess was similar in stature to the American First Lady. They also tended the business of the state, by acting as impartial witnesses to wills and contracts. Once a year, they formally cleaned her temple and precinct, dumped the ashes of the previous year's fire into the river Tiber, and rekindled the flame. They also emptied their vaults of voided contracts and executed any outstanding wills.
This is a great time for a formal spring cleaning of pagan households, and for updating any necessary documentation: wills and testaments, legal agreements, contracts and personal oaths. It is also a time for emptying fireplaces and cleaning chimneys, and balancing accounts.
Some communities have a "spiritual swap" at this time: take objects from your altar that no longer serve you, and host a gathering; ask everyone who comes to bring objects from their altars. The objects can then be de-consecrated, or passed off on someone who will repurpose them on another altar.
