Kwanzaa

We have reached the beginning of the celebration of Kwanzaa - "A celebration of Family, Community and Culture". December 26th until January 1st.

This is a relatively new celebration to most of us. You can learn more about it at the official Kwanzaa site, which is very interesting reading.

Kwanzaa

"Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, community and culture, for repairing and renewing the world", according to its founder, Dr. Maulana Karenga. It is celebrated starting on December 26th, until January 1st.

There are seven principles of Kwanzaa. I think we can all agree that these are fine, strong principles, and those who try to live by them are fine people.

Listed first in Swahili and then in English, the Seven Principles are:

Umoja (Unity) - of family, community, nation and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-determination) - to define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective work and responsibility) to build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative economics) to build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose) - to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity) - to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Imani (Faith) - to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and the victory of our struggle.

- Maulana Karenga


HAPPY KWANZAA