During this event, Roman soldiers abducted (and did other things to) women in surrounding regions. Perhaps the strangest origin story I found is traced back to an event in Roman mythology involving Sabine Women.
I think this story is more relevant in Britain – I might be wrong. Ancient peoples believed that evil spirits hovered at the threshold, so, to avoid getting cursed, the bride was carried over the threshold. At the time, the bride had to avoid looking eager to leave her father’s home, so she was carried over the threshold into her husband’s house.įor some cultures, there is also a spiritual meaning to carrying the bride over the threshold. After doing some research into the origin of this tradition, one of the origin stories I discovered originated with the ancient Romans. One of the many origin stories I found were kind of creepy, but interesting nonetheless. Jumping the broom reminds me of the post-wedding custom that is pretty popular in the US – carrying the bride over the threshold. I will have one incorporated into my wedding as a prop though. With that being said, I do not plan to jump the broom at my wedding celebration. Even though there is no concrete evidence to support why slave owners forced the slaves to jump to broom, the fact that the practice signified new beginnings for slaves is worth remembrance and respect. However, those that are aware debate about whether they should continue the practice to honor their ancestors, or to discard what they consider to be a”archaic” tradition.I personally do not feel the tradition should be discarded, and looked down upon. Not many people within the black community are aware of the American origin of the Jumping the Broom tradition. Other historians believe the practice was enforced to prove to Northern abolitionists that slave owners were kind to their slaves by allowing them to have elaborate wedding celebrations.By the 1830’s and 1840’s, jumping the broom was a tradition that slaves understood as their own. Some pairs jumped over a single broom while other pairs each jumped over their own broom. Some historians believe that slave owners forced slaves to undergo this tradition to mock them. In contrast to the current practice,sometimes the brooms were held in the air, and other times the broom was held on the ground. Slave owners would take a broom then have two slaves jump over it before they were considered married instead of legally conducting a wedding with an ordained minister. Prior to the civil war, “jumping the broom” was a ceremony where slaves were forced to marry one another by their slave owners. Her husband is Wiccan, and they had a handfasting first (in place of the wedding vows you would use.) I'll probably do it at my wedding because I'm Pagan too, and love the symbolism behind it.Jumping The Broom is the first tradition that comes to my mind when I think of aspects of African American culture. The act of jumping over a broom after newlyweds say I do symbolizes sweeping away the old to make way for a new beginning. One of my oldest friends jumped the broom at her wedding. Yes, it's from a jewelery company but it gets to the meat and potatoes info that counts quickly. Here is a pretty basic easy to understand website about the tradition and the meaning behind it. Some people would actually sweep with it, some would just keep it. The broom will be kept in a place of honor. After the jump they may also sweep out the house.
The higher the jump, the luckier and stronger the marriage. Then later they go home and use that broom to sweep out the old dirt basically doing a "Clean Sweep." Alternatively, sometimes the broom, or besom, will be put in the doorway for the couple to jump over. The tradition that I am familiar with (more on the Celtic side) is that after the Priest/Priestess marries the couple they jump over the broom together. Basically if you are worried about being a certain race and offedning someoen by doing this, don't let that stop you. It is also a traditon of Celts, Druids, Gypsies, and a few other cultures as well. (The slaves did it because they couldn't be legally married.) There are also theories that the slaves that practiced this learned it from other white slaves or indentured servants who also could not marry legally. It is actually still done in West Africa today, along with several other areas of the world. Well, I don't know if I would recommend it for a Quaker ceremony, but jumping the broom is not only an African American tradition.
0 kommentar(er)
