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History of Jumping The Broom
How To Jump The Broom
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History of Jumping The Broom
History:
Broom jumping is most famous in the United States as an African American wedding custom. During the antebellum period in the United States, slave marriages were not recognized as legal or binding. The broom jumping ritual was a symbolic act within slave communities for marriage. Many African American couples are taking back this custom and incorporating it as part of their modern ceremony. Broom jumping was not done only by slaves. Poor whites in the South and in New England, as well as Gypsies also used this marriage ritual. The jumping of the broom is of Welsh and Celtic origin. In the Celtic ritual, it is a symbol of fertility. Several couples interested in history or pagan ritual also are now adopting this custom in their weddings.
Modern Meanings:
Done as an act of remembrance and to honor the ancestors of the past. Compared to the Jewish wedding ritual of crushing a glass for the destruction of the temple. A broom itself represents cleanliness, the hearth and family. It can also represent fertility. The jumping of the broom is a leap of faith into marriage. In some parts of Africa, ceremonial brooms are used to sweep away evil.
The Actual Ceremony:
The broom jumping typically takes place after the rest of the wedding ceremony, before the bride and groom exit down the aisle. Alternatively, some choose to do it during the reception. A designated broom person (a very honored job, usually a woman) takes the broom and places it on the floor in front of you. Choose someone to explain to the guests what it stands for and why you are doing it. You may ask the guests to count out loud or not and then you hold hands and jump over it! This ritual varies from couple to couple; it is up to you to find a way to make it most meaningful.
In addition to including a mention of broom jumping in your African American wedding invitation wording, you’ll want to include further explanation of the ritual in your wedding program.
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How to Jump the Broom
Instructions
STEP 1: Select a time to perform this tradition. Either at the very end of the ceremony or during the reception would be appropriate.
STEP 2: Call your guests to gather around you and your new spouse.
STEP 3: Place the broom on the floor and stand in front of it.
STEP 4: Ask a family member or friend to narrate the history of this custom. It stems back to the time when slaves were prevented from marrying. They developed this ritual as a way to unite in ceremony.
STEP 5: Suggest that the narrator explain to guests that you are re-creating the ceremony as a way to represent the joining together of two lives and the need for support of the marriage from the entire community.
STEP 6: Hold the broom with your spouse as the narrator shares this important information.
STEP 7: Sweep the broom in a circle together until the story is finished.
STEP 8: Place the broom on the floor and hold hands with your spouse.
STEP 9: Ask the guests to count out loud to three.
STEP 10: Jump over the broom together.
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