Why does kwanzaa exist

Or self-determination. This principle refers to defining, naming, creating and speaking for oneself. Cooperative economics. Similar to ujima, this principle refers to uplifting your community economically. Karenga expands on this principle with, "To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. Kwanzaa is always from December 26 to January 1.

Each day is dedicated to the Nguzo Saba, also known as the seven principles. The kinara holds seven candles, one black, three red and three green, which represent the people, the struggle and the future. They also represent the seven principles: unity umoja , self-determination kujichagulia , collective responsibility ujima , cooperative economics ujamaa , purpose nia , creativity kuumba and faith imani.

You can celebrate both Christmas and Kwanzaa. They're not mutually exclusive. Karenga wanted Kwanzaa to be a nonreligious holiday for African-American families to come together and celebrate their ancestral roots.

So you can have your merry Christmas and a happy Kwanzaa, too. It's OK to be excited for the feast. Though often thought of as an alternative to Christmas , many people actually celebrate both. Kwanzaa centers around seven principles. The seven principles of Kwanzaa, as determined by Karenga, are umoja unity , kujichagulia self-determination , ujima collective work and responsibility , ujamaa cooperative economics , nia purpose , kuumba creativity and imani faith.

Kwanzaa also has seven symbols—mazao crops , mkeka mat , kinara candleholder , muhindi corn , kikombe cha umoja unity cup , zawadi gifts and mishumaa saba seven candles —that are traditionally arranged on a table. Three of the seven candles are red, representing the struggle; three of the candles are green, representing the land and hope for the future; and one of the candles is Black, representing people of African descent.

On a table decorated in kente cloth, a traditional African fabric, was a kinara, which contains seven holes, to correspond to the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. There were three red candles on the left side of the kinara, and three green candles on the right side of the kinara. The center candle was black. The colors of the candles represent the red, black and green of the African Liberation flag.

The auditorium was packed. Those in attendance, young and old, black and white, held hands and chanted slogans celebrating black heroes and heroines, as diverse as the civil rights icons, Rosa Parks and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a cultural observance that acknowledged solidarity with the struggles of the past and with one another.

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