Gift giving ideas in honor of Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa, which comes from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” or “first fruits of the harvest”, was created by activist Maulana Karenga. According to the official Kwanzaa website, the holiday was first celebrated in 1966 as a way for African Americans to “reaffirm and restore rootedness in African culture”. Though not associated with any specific religion, Kwanzaa celebrates the unification of Black people in America, across the diaspora and on the continent of Africa. Kwanzaa is celebrated for 7 days from December 26 to New Years. On each day of Kwanzaa, you light a candle for that day’s principle on your candleholder (Kinara). Though gifts are only given during the final day of Kwanzaa, whether you celebrate the holiday or not, here are some inspirational gift ideas from the principles of Kwanzaa (with definitions taken from the official Kwanzaa website) to give to your close family and friends.
Photo courtesy of CNN
Umoja (Unity): To strive for and maintain unity in the 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 brother's and sister's 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.
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Imani (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
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