Jumping the Broom!

kengirl16 · May 2011

My fiance is black, I am white. My FMIL suggested we jump a broom at the wedding. It's not really a family tradition, but I am happy to include it in our special day. When I talked about it with my fiance, he didn't really know the historical significance of jumping the broom. Kinda made me sad. All he could say was "It's something black people do." So we had to have a little history lesson.

Anyway, just wondering if any other brides are doing this at their weddings and if so, do you do it at the ceremony or the reception. Does it matter? My FMIL thinks we can do it at the reception because more people will be able to see it. Doesn't make a difference to me, just curious.

Lisa50 · May 2011

Actually, jumping the broom was a wedding tradition long before blacks adopted it (recently and generations ago). I'm not a historian but I think its from Europe, Wales maybe. OK ... there ya go ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_broom.

We're not doing it.

DramaGeek · May 2011

I thought it was supposed to be done at the end of the ceremony, kind of like stomping the glass in a Jewish ceremony. There's an African-American weddings board over there <--- under Cultural Wedding boards, I bet they could help you.

Milsey32 · May 2011

I just don't see the point... but if it's for you, hey, go for it. I wouldn't make it a "black" thing or a "white" thing though

TurtlesAllTheWayDown · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_jumping-broom-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:36Discussion:86f5dea1-1903-4ae0-8c57-bfad05cc5fe8Post:e7e89a23-2829-4db3-a9e9-0a5ec02f087b">Jumping the Broom!</a>:
[QUOTE]My fiance is black, I am white. My FMIL suggested we jump a broom at the wedding. It's not really a family tradition, but I am happy to include it in our special day. When I talked about it with my fiance, he didn't really know the historical significance of jumping the broom. Kinda made me sad. All he could say was "It's something black people do." So we had to have a little history lesson. Anyway, just wondering if any other brides are doing this at their weddings and if so, do you do it at the ceremony or the reception. Does it matter? <strong>My FMIL thinks we can do it at the reception because more people will be able to see it.</strong> Doesn't make a difference to me, just curious.
Posted by kengirl16[/QUOTE]

Won't people be able to see better at the actual ceremony?

MaryCW2 · May 2011

There are several ways to look at this. The tradition became popular in the black community during slavery when rights to a legal marriage were denied to slaves, so this was a more informal sign of the commitment to eachother. Some associate the practice with the negative connotation of injustice and captivity, while others regard it as a rich part of heritage. Judging by what FMIL said, they regard it as the latter so it may be nice to include. Since it is a less formal culmination of the event as it were, like other traditions such as tossing the boquet, it might be more fitting to do it at the reception.

MissRei · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_jumping-broom-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:36Discussion:86f5dea1-1903-4ae0-8c57-bfad05cc5fe8Post:c84d92a1-2045-4311-bca2-b20354f57f04">Re: Jumping the Broom!</a>:
[QUOTE]There are several ways to look at this. The tradition became popular in the black community during slavery when rights to a legal marriage were denied to slaves, so this was a more informal sign of the commitment to eachother. Some associate the practice with the negative connotation of injustice and captivity, while others regard it as a rich part of heritage. Judging by what FMIL said, they regard it as the latter so it may be nice to include. Since it is a less formal culmination of the event as it were, like other traditions such as tossing the boquet, it might be more fitting to do it at the reception.
Posted by MaryCW2[/QUOTE]

agreed. i would like to point out that its not just a black community thing. Pagans/Wiccans alike had this idea before the African American community. the tradition in that community starts pre-Civil War era. Pagans have been doing from back in the day the Celts ruled the majority of modern-day England and Ireland i believe. since my fiance and i are both Pagans, i'm incorporating this tradition and the handfasting tradition to my wedding day ^__^

missqueens · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_jumping-broom-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:36Discussion:86f5dea1-1903-4ae0-8c57-bfad05cc5fe8Post:e7e89a23-2829-4db3-a9e9-0a5ec02f087b">Jumping the Broom!</a>:
[QUOTE]My fiance is black, I am white. My FMIL suggested we jump a broom at the wedding. It's not really a family tradition, but I am happy to include it in our special day. When I talked about it with my fiance, he didn't really know the historical significance of jumping the broom. Kinda made me sad. All he could say was "It's something black people do." So we had to have a little history lesson. Anyway, just wondering if any other brides are doing this at their weddings and if so, do you do it at the ceremony or the reception. Does it matter? My FMIL thinks we can do it at the reception because more people will be able to see it. Doesn't make a difference to me, just curious.
Posted by kengirl16[/QUOTE]

<p>Most popularly, at an African-American wedding, it is done right after the Kiss. When you turn to face the crowd , you walk a few steps, jump over the broom, then head down the aisle as a married couple. </p>
<p>I AM definitely doing it at my wedding and will include a brief explanation of the custom in my wedding program for those who are unfamilar. </p>
<p>Etsy sells a card with a good explanation, but I'm just using their wording and printing it in tmy program. Their card can be found at:</p><p><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/42972072/jumping-the-broom-explanation-card" rel='nofollow'>http://www.etsy.com/listing/42972072/jumping-the-broom-explanation-card</a>

GoodLuck!<img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" /></p>

kengirl16 · May 2011

Wow, really glad I posted this! I learned about this tradition in an African American history course in college, and I don't remember being told about it's Celtic origins. But that is really cool because I have a lot of Welsch, Irish, and British ancestry. I was excited to include the tradition because my fiance's family wants it, but now I feel as though I have a closer connection to it.

Missqueens- I love the idea of including a description in the program. Maybe I could teach some people about all of the origins and the historical signifificance.

We're having a Catholic ceremony, and the Chapel has relatively high pews so I think it would be hard to see the broom at the ceremony. The reception sight is a little more open and more people would be able to see it.

MizLynn · May 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_customs-traditions_jumping-broom-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:36Discussion:86f5dea1-1903-4ae0-8c57-bfad05cc5fe8Post:3e5ef5df-ba7e-453e-bc52-4a5aa8b373d3">Re: Jumping the Broom!</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Jumping the Broom! : agreed. i would like to point out that its not just a black community thing. <strong>Pagans/Wiccans alike had this idea before the African American community. the tradition in that community starts pre-Civil War era.</strong> Pagans have been doing from back in the day the Celts ruled the majority of modern-day England and Ireland i believe. since my fiance and i are both Pagans, i'm incorporating this tradition and the handfasting tradition to my wedding day ^__^
Posted by MissRei[/QUOTE]

<div>In the interest of accuracy, I'd just like to point out that jumping the broom isn't something that African-Americans started doing in the slave era, it actually pre-dates that. It's not something we picked up from the Wiccans when we got off the boat in America. My research (as I am thinking about incorporating this tradition into my ceremony) has shown that it was a tradition being practiced in Africa long before the slave trade. Enslaved Africans continued it as a way to link back to traditions in Africa - it was one of the few traditions that was considered harmless by slave masters and so allowed to continue. Also with the symbolism of the spray of the broom and handle (you can google that), it sort of gained a double meaning. </div><div>
</div><div>My understanding is that the movie/book "Roots" brought the practice back to the forefront as far as practice in the AA community goes. It's probably also why so many people associate the practice only with the AA community. </div><div>
</div><div>Just had to point that out since it was bugging me a lil' bit. </div><div>
</div><div>I agree though, that it's important to research any tradition you plan to use in your ceremony --- I mean, what's the point of doing it if you don't understand the meaning and significance of it?</div><div>
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