What happens on each day of Kwanzaa?
Each day a different principle is discussed, and each day a candle is lit on the kinara (candleholder). On the first night, the center black candle is lit, and the principle of umoja, or unity is discussed. On the final day of Kwanzaa, families enjoy an African feast, called karamu.
What does Umoja mean?
Unity
Umoja (Unity) To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
What do you do on 4th day of Kwanzaa?
On the first day of Kwanzaa, December 26, the leader or minister calls everyone together and greets them with the official question: “Habari gani?” (“What’s happening?”), to which they respond with the name of the first principle: “Umoja.” The ritual is repeated on each day of the Kwanzaa celebration, but the answer …
What do you do on the 4 day of Kwanzaa?
This date is the fourth day of Kwanzaa. The day focuses on Ujamaa the Swahili word for cooperative economics. This fourth principle of the Nguzo Saba is a commitment to the practice of shared social wealth and the work needed to achieve it.
How do you light Kwanzaa candles?
Each night during Kwanzaa a candle is lit. The black, center, candle is lit first and then it alternates between the red and green candles stating with the ones on the outside and moving inwards. This is quite similar to the lighting of the menorah in the Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah.
What time do you light Kwanzaa candles?
Lighting the Candles. Wait until after sundown. Kwanzaa is celebrated each night from December 26th to January 1st, so you’ll need to wait until after sundown to get started.
How do people celebrate the last day of Kwanzaa?
Gifts may be given one per day, or they may all be exchanged on the last day of Kwanzaa. The Kwanzaa feast is held on the evening of December 31. The feast is not just about food — it is also a time to sing, pray and celebrate African history and culture.
Do you say Happy Kwanzaa?
The holiday greeting is “Joyous Kwanzaa”.
What happens on the fourth day of Kwanzaa?
The family members who congregate discuss the meaning of the 3rd principle and share Unity cup. The candles are then extinguished. On the fourth day of Kwanzaa, the black candle is lit at first, then the utmost left red one, then the farthest right green one and at last the next red candle, placed at the left hand side of the black one, is lit.
Why is black candle lit on first day of Kwanzaa?
Black candle, placed right in the middle of red and green candles in Kinara, is lit on the very first day of the festival. It marks the commencement of the festive season. The person who takes the responsibility to light the candle makes a statement about the first principle i.e. Umoja (oo-MOH-jah) or unity.
What are the names of the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa?
One of the most important Swahili words to know are the names of the seven principles of Kwanzaa: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith).
Where did the tradition of Kwanzaa come from?
The first-fruits celebrations are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia and appear in ancient and modern times in other classical African civilizations such as Ashantiland and Yorubaland. Kwanzaa developed as a flourishing branch of the African American life and struggle as a recreated and expanded ancient tradition.