<P> Jumping the broom is a phrase and custom relating to a wedding ceremony where the couple jumps over a broom . It has been suggested that the custom is based on an 18th - century idiomatic expression for "sham marriage", "marriage of doubtful validity"; it was popularized in the context of the introduction of civil marriage in Britain with the Marriage Act 1836 . </P> <P> There have also been suggestions that the expression may derive from an actual custom of jumping over a "broomstick" (where "broom" refers to the plant common broom rather than the household implement) associated with the gypsies (Romani) of the United Kingdom . especially those in Wales . </P>

Where did jumping over the broom come from