It's Not over Yet - Celebrate the African Heritage Season - Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a time to celebrate African heritage and further strengthen core family values using seven African principles: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity) and imani (faith). It's also a time to entrench oneself in four decades of tradition.
In 1966 Dr. Ron Maulana Karenga adapted the principles of the African harvest festival to create the African American celebration known as Kwanzaa. He emphasized that the same principles could be used in building strong and wholesome communities.

Kwanzaa, which means "fresh fruits," is a week-long celebration that runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. In this time, a different principle is celebrated each night through African proverbs, songs, chants and gift giving. Gifts normally include a traditional African heritage symbol and a book to stress ethnic values.
During Kwanzaa, families decorate their homes with harvest symbols and other ethnic artifacts and dress in traditional African garb that exude the colors of Kwanzaa--black (to symbolize the people), red (to represent the bloodshed and struggle for equality), and green (representing hope for the future).



Traditionally, there is a central decoration that holds seven candles: three red candles, three green candles and one black candle (which is lit on the first night).