Jumping the broom

Uncommon card · No. 192000

Jumping the broom ("jumpin' de broom") refers to an illegitimate wedding ceremony in which the couple jumps over a broom. It originated in mid-19th-century antebellum slavery in the United States, where the slave-owner forced this ritual to serve as an ersatz wedding between his owned slaves, in lieu of a proper wedding with an ordained minister. Despite this, the ritual has enjoyed a revival in contemporary weddings among African Americans and Black Canadians, with planning books in the 1990s promoting their incorporation. The impetus for the revival is credited to the 1970s novel and TV miniseries Roots. While there are legitimate pieces of African-American folklore traceable to Africa, this wedding tradition does not appear to be one of them, in spite of the wedding-planning books of the 1990s suggesting roots to be found in African rituals. The wedding rite of jumping over the besom (≈"broom") is said to have been present among the Gypsy populace of England and Scotland (nowadays referred...

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