What does kwanzaa represent? It is an African American celebration
for African values of family, commerce, community responsibility, and
self improvement. So I myself see it as a part of black history. This
Kwanzaa holiday is the best holiday ever. It symbolizes the unity of black
people and that is the best thing in this world.
Kwanzaa is based on 7 principles:
Umoja- Togetherness of family and community.
Kujichagulia- Self determination and define common interests and make
decisions in the best interest of family and society, world.
Ujamaa- Cooperative economics involves collective economic strength
and meeting needs through mutual support.
Nia- Look inside selfand set goals for the benefit of the community.
Kuumba- Use creativity to build a strong community.
Imani- Faith, which focuses on honoring best traditions, draw out
the best in self and aim for a higher level of human kind as
well as affirming self-worth and confidence in the ability
to succeed in a struggle.
THe colors of kwanzaa are red black and green.
This info can be found at this website: http://www.tike.com/celeb-kw.htm
- Black for the face of blacks.
- Red to represent the blood shed.
- Green in honor of hope and color of motherland.
THe name kwanzaa comes from the phrase matunda ya kwanza which
means fresh fruit in swahili. This fact makes me think about wanting to learn
Swahilian. Kwanzaa lasts from December 26 through January 1st. I’m
impressed with the content and creativity behind kwanzaa, and also
the fact that it lasts longer than Christmas.
The fruits, nuts and vegetables in kwanzaa represents the work as well as the
basis of the holiday. The place mat is a symbol of the history, culture, and tradition.
For the ear of corn, that represents the reproduction of children.
As for the candles, they have two purposes- Recreate symbolically the sun’s
power and provide light. Kinara, aka the candleholder, is a symbol of where
we originally came from. The unity cup is for the libation ritual. Gifts
encourage growth, self determination, acheivement, and success.
All of this info is found here:
THanks due to Maulana Karenga for creating this special holiday
kwanzaa in 1966. Fact found here:
http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/holidays/ligon.holiday/kwanzaa/Kwan2.html. Here is the site
with the kwanzaa video:
