JUMPING OVER THE BROOM FULL
JUMPING OVER THE BROOM TV

Read on for more ideas about how you can incorporate a ‘jumping the broom’ ritual into your ceremony.

JUMPING OVER THE BROOM FULL

These communities who’ve historically been ostracized and discriminated against share origins in the tradition- it holds significance to the oppressed in multiple cultures.What is a jumping the broom or besom ceremony?Ĭongratulations! You have already decided that choosing a celebrant to deliver your wedding ceremony gives you a whole range of options that a registrar just can’t.Ī favourite option with many couples is ‘jumping the broom’ – a ritual that is full of fun and theatre, that is a great way to involve your guests and looks amazing on your photos and video – what more could you want?! While in America, the tradition is highly associated with the enslavement of African Americans, in European countries like Wales or Scotland, it’s linked to the marginalized population who rejected Christianity. Jumping the broom is also a symbolic way to bless the marriage and embrace the joining of two families. Many Black couples incorporate jumping the broom after they say “I do” as a way to pay homage to their ancestors, culture and legacy. Today, jumping the broom is still a significant custom in Black weddings. Jumping the broom is still an important wedding tradition for many Black Americans and other marginalized groups. The phrase “jumping the broom” has even become synonymous with getting wed-even if a couple doesn’t literally jump a broom.

JUMPING OVER THE BROOM TV

However, there was a resurgence of the tradition amongst Black communities following Alex Haley’s 1976 book and 1977 TV miniseries Roots. While others argue that enslaved people would voluntarily jump over the broom to marry since they could not legally wed- the act of jumping the broom became a symbolic way to recognize their union.Īfter slavery ended, jumping the broom largely fell out of practice when Black Americans were legally allowed to marry in the United States. Some believed that enslavers forced the custom on enslaved people as a form of mockery and a cryptic reminder that their marriages were vulnerable to the whims of their owners. Jumping the broom later became associated with the union of enslaved people.ĭuring slavery in the United States, the custom of jumping the broom was introduced and adopted by enslaved people. And to annul the marriage, the couple would jump over the broom backward. If the broom fell down, the wedding was called off. Some accounts say if neither couple knocked the broom out of place, then the marriage was meant to be. In Wales, Roma people’s marriages were not recognized by the church, so they would have “ Besom Weddings ” in which a groom and bride would jump over a broom that was placed across a doorway.

The Welsh, in particular, sustained the ritual and carried the tradition to the American South. These communities were known for jumping the broom to seal their wedding vows. Other scholars argue that the tradition originated from British Romani customs-such as in Welsh, Scottish and Roma cultures. The images sparked disapproval from Twitter, with many users virtually shaking their heads at a white woman taking part in what’s thought of as a traditionally Black custom. A viral tweet of a photographer’s photos showing a white bride and a Black groom jumping the broom at their wedding sparked outrage online. Because the wedding tradition is so firmly wrapped in Black American culture, other ethnic groups are often implicitly discouraged from practicing it. The popularity of the custom in Black communities is depicted in contemporary films and television such as the 2011 rom-com, Jumping the Broom. “In the years since Roots premiered, I’ve been invited to a number of weddings in which Black couples jumped the broom, considering it a dignifying African tradition preserved by ancestors.” Stewart, author of Black Women, Black Love: America’s War on African American Marriage. “The broomstick wedding, for many viewers, conveyed how African descendants shared the profound joy of romantic love in the midst of incessant violation and trauma,” said Dianne M. It was a symbol of perseverance in the midst of so much darkness for enslaved Black Americans throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Popularized by the Emmy award-winning miniseries Roots, the tender scene of Kunta Kinte and Belle cementing their wedding vows by jumping the broom left a lasting impression on many Black Americans. Jumping the broom has become synonymous with African American wedding traditions.

Jumping over the broom