Using Brooms to Jumpstart your Decorating

An African-American tradition that started near the 19th century and continues today, jumping the broom at the end of a wedding ceremony is a great way to incorporate this age-old symbol while at the same time making it a part of your wedding decor.

Most likely started in Western Africa where brooms were used as spiritual symbols, often the broom was waved over a bride and groom's heads as well as their parent's, as a sign of blessing during the ceremony.  Today, the jumping of the broom has evolved to symbolize many different things to many different people depending on their culture.

In South Africa, it symbolized the new wife's willingness to clean the floors of the house she was about to join. In American weddings it usually decided who was in charge of the house by indicating that whoever jumped the highest over the broom was in charge.  Despite many thoughts to the contrary however, broom jumping was never meant to be taken literally as a "leap of faith" because the phrase was brought about at least one hundred years after the jumping of the broom tradition first began.  Many modern weddings however, still take this interpretation for the way it fits within their ceremony.

Today, many people who utilize this tradition, will incorporate brooms into many different aspects of their wedding.  Some will have their brooms decorated beautifully for the ceremony and hang them on the walls of their reception and later their home as a decorative addition. Another possibility is to assemble and decorate brooms in a variety of styles and sizes for placeholders or for your tables.

As an idea that'll really sweep guests off their feet, including the jumping of the broom tradition and brooms as decorative items in your wedding is a great way to jumpstart your wedding decor.

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