Those must have been awfully long brooms
Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:57 am
http://www.highlandnews.net/articles/20 ... istory.txt
The other aspect of our image of witches is the broomstick. Unlike Harry Potter, witches did not use their brooms to play Quiddich. The image of a witch riding a broom may have come from a ceremonial dance to encourage a good harvest. In these jumping dances the higher you jumped, the higher your crops would grow. Broomsticks were probably used like a pole vault to jump as high as possible. This may have looked like flying to a superstitious onlooker.
The other aspect of our image of witches is the broomstick. Unlike Harry Potter, witches did not use their brooms to play Quiddich. The image of a witch riding a broom may have come from a ceremonial dance to encourage a good harvest. In these jumping dances the higher you jumped, the higher your crops would grow. Broomsticks were probably used like a pole vault to jump as high as possible. This may have looked like flying to a superstitious onlooker.