"A Community that Celebrates Together, Stays Together."
Kwanzaa Events and Announcements
Links
CNN: Kwanzaa Page
touches upon the holiday's history, celebration, traditional foods, and stories.
Everything About Kwanzaa
Habari Gani
KWANZAA is derived from the Kiswahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza", which means "first fruits of the harvest" which is a depiction of the celebration of harvesting the first crops in traditional Africa.
History Channel: Seven Symbols
Seven Symbols, seven principles
Kwanzaa Information Center
Kwanzaa Time at Kids Domain
Kids Stuff, Clip Art
Lil' Kwanzaa Celebration
celebrate Kwanzaa by learning the meaning of the Kwanzaa candles, playing a game, or coloring!
Official Kwanzaa Website
World Vision: Umoja in Chicago
Umoja is the first symbol in Kwanzaa. Here is a real life application.
Kwanzaa FAQ's
Q. How many days are there in Kwanzaa?
A. 7
Q. When does Kwanzaa Start and End?
A. December 26--January 1
Q. Is Kwanzaa a replacement for Christmas?
A. No. Because Kwanzaa starts the day after Christmas, December 26th, and Ends on New Years, Januarary 1st, you could say that Kwanzaa is more of a new year celebration.
Q. What are the days of Kwanzaa?
A.
December 26th Unity (Umoja)
"To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race."
December 27th Self-Determination (Kujichagulia)
"To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves."
December 28th Collective Work & Responsibility (Ujima)
"To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together."
December 29th Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa)
"To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together."
December 30th Purpose (Nia)
"To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness."
December 31st Creativity (Kuumba)
"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."
January 1st Faith (Imani)
"To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle."
Q. In what order do I light the candles?
A.
Q. Where can I buy the stuff necessary to observe Kwanzaa?
A. Culture Collections or Carol's Books