With today being Day 4 of Kwanzaa, I felt compelled to write today’s post. Kwanzaa is an annual celebration and holiday of Black (African American) culture that lasts an entire week. The celebration begins the day following Christmas on December 26th and ends on New Year, January 1st.
What is Kwanzaa?
Kwanzaa is held in the United States and incorporates a week of seven principles, gift-giving and a feast of faith called Karamu Ya Imani. It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966.
Last year was our first year celebrating, so each day, I documented the journey in my stories on Facebook along with daily posts. This year, we are celebrating again, but I’ve been mostly reposting last year with the assistance of Facebook Memories.
Shop Amazon for Kwanzaa decor including candles and the kinara set.
The Seven Principles (Nguzo Saba) of Kwanzaa
Day 1 is Umoja which means Unity.
This includes unity of the family, community, nation, and race.
Day 2 is Kujichagulia which means Self-Determination.
This means to be responsible for ourselves and our actions, but most importantly, to create our own destiny. I love this principle and made a pretty big deal about it on Facebook a few days ago.
Here’s why.
Last year, we had a family vision board night during Kwanzaa, and this year before we entered the celebration, my youngest son had completed his vision board. He is nine years old and understands the power of his thoughts and how to create and manifest his visions.
This is an awesome example of self-determination, especially for a child.
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Day 3 is Ujima which means Collective Work and Responsibility.
This principle takes a look at building and maintaining your community together. It means to work with one another within your community. On this day last year, we had our family vision board night. I wanted the boys to understand that if we created our visions, then we could work together to help each other achieve them; which is exactly how my son was able to complete his vision board.
Day 4 is Ujamaa which means Collective Economics.
This principle is to encourage building, maintaining, and supporting Black-owned establishments, and businesses.
Day 5 is Nia which means Purpose.
Purpose is another one of my favorites for very great reasons. This principle is to restore Black people to their traditional greatness. To be responsible to those who came before us (our ancestors) and to those who will follow (our descendants).
This is a grand time to focus on the legacy you want to leave for your family.
This past week, we ended up taking a quick road trip to New York to spend the holidays with my two great-aunts and their families. They are the only living siblings remaining from the original 13 (which included my grandfather).
In conversing with them both, on separate occasions, they were clear in their reason for having us. They each explained to me that it is important for me to continue the work of keeping the family connected which is an excellent example of Day 5.
This is also a superb time to read my post on Beginning with the End in Mind and read more about New York before I post some new goodness!
Day 6 is Kuumba which means Creativity.
Although we did not do our vision boards on this night, this is another opportunity to get creative as a family and get to work using your creativity and imagination. You can also take things a step further and brainstorm ways to to make your communities better than what you inherited.
In addition, it’s a fabulous time to think creatively to plan your ultimate life by creating your own Lifebook. Feel free to follow the link to the free masterclass, or check out the steps in the creation of my own Lifebook.
Day 7 is Imani which means Faith.
This final principle means believing in self, as well as in our people, our families, our educators, our leaders, and the righteousness of the Black/African American struggle.
You may enjoy reading about our visit to Muhammad Ali’s Childhood Home Museum.
Final Thoughts
It’s crazy how as a writer, you start out with one thought, but by the time you are done, you have crafted something else completely different; sometimes even better than the thought you began with.
Initially, I craved to solely write about Collective Economics for Day 4 and link some awesome content which didn’t exactly happen. Nevertheless, we will just keep with what we have.
I hope you have enjoyed reading a bit about Kwanzaa from our experience.
