Today marks Kwanzaa’s start
-
- December
- 26
Kwanzaa, the week-long Pan-African festival most popular in the United States, begins today.
Running annually from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1, Kwanzaa focuses on seven African principles: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).
The non-religious holiday was developed in the United States in the mid 1960s as a way for African-Americans and others in the diaspora to focus on the culture, history and traditions of Africa.
Key Kwanzaa symbols include the kinara, or candle holder; the seven candles for the holder; crops to represent the harvest; a mat symbolizing the foundational importance of history and tradition; and the unity cup.
Kwanzaa is Swahili for “first fruits.�
For more about the holiday, click here.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, December 26th, 2007 at 3:57 pm by Suzan Clarke.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
| 
