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by PharmTek on December 16th, 2005

PharmTek

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What's the superstition behind giving someone a broom as a gift when they move into a new home?

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  • by Tigerspirit on December 17th, 2005

    Tigerspirit

    I've heard a lot of different explanations for this one, but the most common seems to be that 'a new broom sweeps clean'.

    The broom has been an enduring symbol of a woman's powers, both in the home and sexually -- note the association of brooms and witches in European folklore. The witch flying on her broom is at once a woman escaping male sexual dominance and fleeing her 'rightful place' and the rightful use of her broom.

    The main idea seems to be that, in leaving the old broom behind at the old house, you leave behind all the dirt, disorder and troubles is has absorbed in cleaning and ordering the old house. A new broom is symbolic of the new start the house represents, and is unsullied -- it is ready to create a clean and orderly home and to enforce the woman's power in it.

    By the way, if you want to observe this tradition, you should also bring a new loaf of fresh bread -- ensuring that there will always be plenty of food in the house -- and sprinkle salt on the door sills, to prevent evil spirits from entering the house.

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