Honoring heritage: Jumping the broom
Filed under: Keeping the Memory, Wedding Lore/Traditions, Ceremonies, Polls
Whether celebrating a simple winter wedding or wanting to incorporate Kwanzaa festivities into the ceremony, African-American couples may want to practice a tradition that's been around since at least the 18th century.
Jumping the broom is documented to have roots during slavery when African-American marriages weren't recognized. Couples would jump or step over a broom in front of a group of people to show that they were married. Even with it's hurtful past, jumping the broom is also rooted in love and family.
A friend of mine had a wonderful wedding where she and her groom stepped over a broom one at a time to symbolize the start of a new, freshly swept and clean life together. After the ceremony, I saw the decorated broom up close and admired how much time the women in her family put into making the broom special for her.
Although the tradition nearly died out after slavery was abolished, recent years have brought a resurgence of jumping the broom as a show of cultural pride. If you would like to practice the tradition, you can find many sites like this one that sell beautifully decorated brooms.
Or, if your family would like to be involved, you can purchase plain brooms ready to decorate with ribbons, beads, shells ... the possibilities are endless. After the wedding, I've known people to display their wedding brooms by hanging them on a wall. You can even have mini-broom wedding favors.
Did you get married and jump the broom?
Also, let us know how you feel about wedding traditions by taking our poll.
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