world cultures · Ages 6-8

The Wedding Broom Waited for Two People to Jump

At an African American wedding, a child learns how jumping the broom can honor family history and mark a joyful new start.

The whole story

1. On Saturday morning, Maya carried the wedding broom to the garden. She wondered why it had been polished until it shone.

2. Maya rubbed the handle with a soft cloth. “Grandma, is it only for sweeping?”

3. Grandma smiled and touched the blue ribbon. “This broom is for remembering,” she said. “And for beginning.”

4. Grandma showed Maya an old photograph. In it, great-great-grandparents stood beside a broom, smiling proudly.

5. “Long ago, some Black couples could not have the weddings they deserved,” Grandma explained. “Families used what they had to honor their love.”

6. “They placed a broom on the ground,” Grandma said. “Then the couple jumped over it together, stepping into a new life.”

7. Soon, Aunt Nia and Uncle Marcus arrived in their wedding clothes. Maya held the broom out to them.

8. Maya told them what Grandma had taught her. Aunt Nia pressed a hand to her heart, and Uncle Marcus nodded.

9. At the ceremony, Maya laid the broom across the grass. The family gathered close, carrying old memories into the bright evening.

10. Aunt Nia and Uncle Marcus held hands. They looked at the broom, then at each other, and bent their knees.

11. Together, they jumped over the broom. Everyone clapped, and Maya’s blue ribbon bounced in her hand.

12. Maya held the shining broom beside Grandma. It had carried a family’s history, and now it had welcomed two people into a joyful new start.

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