"Buy a Broom"

The other day the refrain "Buy a broom, buy a broom, buy a BROOM" ran through my head, & I recalled learning this folk song back in High School. Looked it up, & there are several versions:

Buy a Broom (traditional)
From Deutschland I come with my light wares all laden,
To dear happy England in summer's gay bloom;
Then listen, fair lady young pretty maiden,
Come buy of the wand'ring Bavarian a broom.
Buy a broom!
Oh, buy of the wand'ring Bavarian a broom.

There's one for the pretty lady, and one for little baby,
and one for the parlour, and one for the hall,
here are brooms for the cottage and brooms for the mansion,
and here you will find one for each and for all.
Buy a broom!
come, buy of the wandering Bavarian a broom!

When winter draws nigh, for my own land departing,
my toil for your favours again I´ll resume,
and while gratitude's tear in my eyelid is starting,
bless the time that in England I cried, Bye a broom!
Buy a broom!
come, buy of the wandering Bavarian a broom!

An alternate version has a the same first line, but the an extra 'buy a broom' in each chorus, & different ending:

Oh! buy of the wand'ring Bavarian, a Broom,
Buy a broom, buy a Broom, (SPOKEN) buy a Broom
Oh! buy of the wand'ring Bavarian a Broom,

To brush away insects that sometimes annoy you,
You'll find it quite handy to use night and day,
And what better exercise pray can employ you,
Than to sweep all vexatious intruders away,
Ere winter comes on for sweet home departing,
My toils for your favor again I'll resume,
And while gratitude's tears in my eye-lids are starting,
Bless the time that in England I cried buy a Broom

(SPOKEN) � Yes I shall go back to my own country, and tell them there that I sold all my wares in England, singing,

O' mein lieber Augustin, Augustin, Augustin,
O' mein lieber Augustin, Alles ist weg,
Book ist weg, Stock ist weg,
Auch ich bin in dem Dreck,
O' mein lieber Augustin Alles ist weg.

(Coat is gone, Staff is gone, alas, I lie in the dirt; oh, my friend Augustine, all is gone)

Remember O du leiber Augustine?

Other verses of 'Poor dear Augustine' include the 'girlfriend' being gone - which connects to the next version, a different 'twist' on the theme of seduction & being left - from the young man taken in by "Lish Young Buy-A-Broom" - " As I was a-walkin up and down the street, A pretty little buy-a-broom I chanced for to meet." & here's Clannad on U-Tube, singing this ballad.

Ah, the broom quest; I haven't quite decided whether to order, or to try to see them first!
In response to my inquiry about besoms, Therman from Broom Magic wrote: "Thanks for your interest. The besom (round) broom is more of an old world style of broom. It is a little softer brush because it is left untrimmed. This seems to be the broom of choice for those that intend to use it more for ceremonial or ritual such as a handfasting. It is functional but not nearly so much as the "Shaker" (flat) broom. The Shakers were some of the first commercial broom shops in the US and invented a vice in the 1840's so that the brooms could be sewn flat. It is a bit stiffer and sweeps a broader area than the besom. This broom is definitely more functional.

"Also, the carved wooden dustpans are not available at this time and won't be for the foreseeable future. We actually harvest all of these raw materials ourselves in the Ozark Mtns.and unfortunately the place where we get the wood for the dustpans was hit by a category 4 tornado last year. I'm not sure when it might be available again."
(How sad! Let's send a bit of land blessing & healing to that bit of woods!)

Here's a Besome blog :) with a link to a Besom maker in the UK whose besoms were used in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, & a definition from a coaster found in Scotland:
besom (biz-um) bisom Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~n. 1. obstreperous girl or woman; female upstart [as in “Dinnae pou’ yer brither’s hair, ya wee besom”].
2. woman of low moral standing; a hussy (“Thon yin’s a right mucky besom”).
3. broomstick or scourge; any broom made from loose twigs.
4. a comet or its tail.

I'm leaning toward a shaker style broom, for practical . . . & perhaps one of the besoms in a bit as well. Any votes on which colour??
My son & his littles were here this weekend, & I asked if he'd make me a broom hook - he does some horse shoe & other metal crafts - his wife sells lovelies on her etsy shop 'angelbums' - hmm, wonder if he's going to put any of his goodies on?
Angie gave me a sweet little poly clay (over a glass bottle) vessel for Christmas! It now holds a vanilla bean, steeping in some good (Korbel) brandy.

Found more handmade broom shops - for those farther East looking for a good broom (& they all ship!): Chris in Kentucky has a nice selection, & is willing to make the 'broom of your dreams!' He began his own business at 14 (in college now), makes kids brooms & mops as well, & this sweet little 'cake tester' - so one can use a 'clean' broomstraw for this task! My dad liked to balance a broomstraw on a watermelon to test for ripeness :)
Chris uses hemp to bind his brooms (which he imports from Bavaria - since the US gov. hasn't 'allowed' farmers here to grow hemp for cordage purposes since WWII.)

Hockaday brooms (Tenn.) - great story of how a family farm (with broom making a Winter sideline activity) turned over time, into full time broom making operation. Again, a wide variety of brooms, made on the equipment grandpa made himself! There's even a very lightweight 'beauty shop broom!'

Another Kentucky broom shop - also a family business, begun by "Mr. Rollie", the broomman. Some lovely spiral handled brooms here!

Rain has come

& snow is melting! The roof is almost bare now, my prayers continue for gentle absorption!!
I am in the midst of midwinter cleaning & clearing - washing dishes, washing clothes, 'de-thugging' (Alexandra Stoddard's term! Isn't it just so appropriate?)

I found more info on wedding brooms, handfasting customs, & the Welsh 'priodas coes ysgub' or 'broomstick Wedding.' (this third, an excerpt from the book by Mary Neasham is a great resource on European Handfasting customs!) I'd forgotten the African American connection with the phrase 'jumping the broom' & a time when it was illegal for slaves to marry, but they could still declare their commitment in this way! Poignant.

I love Mary's comments in her Handfasting guide: "It is important to remember that throughout man's history there have always been two tiers of society - the rich & the poor. Up until Victorian times, marriage was seen as a political & economical arrangement for the richer families to gain strength, but for the working class it remained a simple affair based mainly on local customs." (p22)
& "One wonders if the subsequent invasion of Germanic tribes to Britain was partly to escape the spread of Christianity into mainland Europe." (p19)

Another delightful site I discovered yesterday - Jay Shafer's Tumbleweed "Tiny House" Company!!! Wow. When I lived at Breitenbush my homes ranged from 9X19,' (about the size of hisTarleton.) Mine had a 2 burner propane stove, a wee fridge, & loft bed, but I shared a tiny kitchen & bathroom facilities with several other houses. I also spent several months in a yurt (maybe 20' d?) with sunken bathtub & a lovely compact kitchen. A blessing at the Burning Bush was abundant geothermal heat, & electricity from our hydro plant - so no utility costs! I ate breakfast at home, & made tea, but ate lunch & or dinner in the fab. Organic Vegi dining room with other staff & our guests.

I love the spare look of these rooms - & did pare 'stuff' down when I lived at BB - I so tend to accumulate STUFF!! Sigh. I loved living round - after living in "Star Song," I moved to an octagon home (also with loft) that was 17' d. There were closets on the N & S sides, one with shelves, the other with clothing bar. These are still some of my favorite BB homes - 4 octagons surrounding a shared central kitchen & bath room, also octagonal!

If you click on the Breitenbush photo gallery link, 'facilities' will show you some of the public spaces. I taught Reiki in both the room with the fireplace (N wing of the Lodge) & the building with the arched window in the door (Forest Shelter).

OK, back to the cleaning!

Happy Yule

Fun to have Grandchildren to share the joy of the season & *presents* with!! They were up at 6:30 - tickled that Santa came & brought wonderful treats - a dolly stroller for the 4 year old, & a girl Nutcracker for the 8 year old, who was in the ballet this winter! I got in on a bit of that - then across town to the other grandparents' for more presents & a lovely Christmas Brunch! A baby for the stroller (she has several 'favorites' already, & new BIKEs!

We'll have to wait for the snow to melt (slowly, Devas, slowly!) before they can ride them . . .

This afternoon I shoveled my walk & dug out my car - the neighbors across the street came over to help - so sweet! The city doesn't own a snowplow, & the State HWY dept hasn't seen fit to lend us one, so the streets are a combination of mounds, slush, & pavement, . . . the intersections & center mounds are tricky to navigate. Tonight it's clear, so will probably freeze again; though it's about 50 F this afternoon. There are still a few icicles hanging from the gutters.

I've used my broom to sweep the walk a few times, & we used it to uncover my car - I realize I'd like a new one for the new year!
"Don't take an Old Broom to a New Home." When I was newly married, my mother-in law swore by the Portland made "Brown Beauty" brooms, as they were well made & last a long time. I've had a perhaps 3 Brown Beauties, & have moved the last one several times. Occasionally I will look at brooms in the stores, & be disappointed in those available.

So I checked online - first for Brown Beauties, & was intrigued to find Mirador, a Portland store that carries them - (alas, now made in Ca), & also Scheumack brooms, (a seasonal rainbow of their besoms are shown on the right) made in Eugene! Oh, my oh my!! What beautiful brooms & besoms, even a Quiddich broom!!
Sacred Suzie's tell of blessing her besome with Cinnamon came to mind - I spritzed my small one with water & Cinnamon essential oil back in November, & love 'sweeping energy' after I've swept with the big broom.
Looking for more information, I found some lovely chants & other information at Hecate's Cauldron

I'll add one here once I receive her permission :) Meanwhile - this is the one that came as I thought about it:

Broom of Light

Broom of Flight
Circle round & bless this room
Clearing all of stress & gloom
Bring Abundance, Cheer & Love
As is below, so is Above
O Sada! Blessed be

Most of my broom lore is in my head - 'jumping the broomstick' was an old marriage custom, & taking a new broom or besom into the home was a sweet tradition, associated with carrying the 'bride' over the threshold, & bringing flame or coals from her mother's to lite the new hearth-fire.
Another Oregon broom maker, Warren Olney, suggests that Realtors give clients a new, handmade broom as their 'thank you' gift! 'never bring an old broom into a new home!' He has also been asked to provide some "Nimbus 2000" Quiddich brooms for VIPs, & 1800s style brooms for the first "Pirates" movie, & The Last Samurai.
In some cultures, you didn't sweep things out the door, in others, that's part of the cleansing! You can hang a broom by the hearth, to keep evil spirits from entering, or by the door. Brooms are used to 'sweep' the circle free of negative energy before ritual gatherings (often above the ground).
In Karen Kingston's delightful 'Creating Space with Feng Shui,' she talks about the importance of clearing clutter & physically clearing & sweeping before doing the energetic rituals, & that each morning in Bali, wherever you are you hear the sound of hundreds of broom sweeping. (For anyone who was involved with Soul Coaching, Karen is another great guide to shifting energy in your life!)
I think of the Zen tale of a novice given the task of the daily sweeping, & feeling it beneath his dignity, so doing it with a vengeance, & waking the older monks . . . & eventually realizing the importance of bringing his Presence to any task!

This simple cleaning tool has survived for centuries, & even in the most high tech home, there's usually a broom around somewhere. & how much nicer to find these BEAUTIFUL locally made brooms!