How to set up a Kwanzaa table?

Dr. Karenga is a professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach.After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to bring African Americans together.He started researching African harvest celebrations after founding US, a cultural organization.The basis of Kwanzaa was formed by Karenga combining aspects of several different harvest celebrations.

The phrase "matunda ya kwanza" means "first fruits" in Swahili.Songs and dances, African drums, poetry reading, and a large traditional meal are some of the things that can be included in a family's celebration of Kwanzaa.One of the seven principles is discussed after a child lights a candle on the Kinara.The principles are values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing community among African-Americans.Seven basic symbols represent values and concepts reflective of African culture.On December 31, an African feast is held.

Did you know?The ideals created by Dr. Karenga are called the seven principles.Each day has a different principle.

The candle- lighting ceremony gives the opportunity to discuss the meaning of the holiday.The black candle in the center is lit on the first night.Each evening a candle is lit and the appropriate principle is discussed.

The ideals created by Dr. Karenga are called the seven principles.Each day has a different principle.

To define ourselves, name ourselves and speak for ourselves is what Kujichagulia is all about.

To build and maintain our community together and make our brother and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together is called Collective Work and Responsibility.

To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

In order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it, we need to be creative.

To believe in our people, our parents and our leaders, and in the victory of our struggle.

The ideals created by Dr. Karenga are called the seven principles.Each day has a different principle.

Fruits, nuts, and vegetables are symbols of work and the basis of the holiday.It is the historical foundation for the gathering of the people that is patterned after African harvest festivals in which joy, sharing, unity, and thanksgiving are the fruits of collective planning and work.The celebration bonds family members because the family is the basic social and economic center of every civilization.Several generations of two or more nuclear families, as well as distant relatives, may have been included in the family in Africa.The oldest male of the strongest group was the only leader who cared about how large the family was.The entire village may have been made up of one family.Common customs, cultural traditions, and political unity were shared by the family and they were said to be descended from common ancestors.Traditions provided continuity and identity for the tribe.The value system, laws, and customs were determined by tribal laws.Through personal sacrifice and hard work, the farmers sowed seeds that brought forth new plant life to feed the people and other animals of the earth.In order to demonstrate their mazao, the celebrants place nuts, fruit, and vegetables on the mkeka.

The place mat, made from straw or cloth, is from Africa and expresses history, culture, and tradition.The historical and traditional foundation for us to stand on and build our lives is represented by this symbol.James Baldwin wrote in 1965, "For history is not merely something to be read."It does not just refer to the past.The force of history comes from the facts that we carry within us, as well as being controlled by it in many ways.We study, recall, and reflect on our history and the role we are to play as a legacy to the future since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference.The mats were made from the dried grains and straw.The weavers made household baskets and mats.Kente cloth, African mud cloth and other textiles from various areas of the African continent are what we buy today.The mishumaa saba, vibunzi, mazao, thezawadi, kikombe cha umoja, and the kinara are placed directly on the mkeka.

Through the reproduction of children, the future hopes of the family are brought to life.One ear is called vibunzi, and two or more ears are called Mihindi.One ear is placed on the mkeka for each child in the family because each ear symbolizes a child.Each person is responsible for the children of the community if there are no children in the home.We return the love that was heaped on us as children to all the children in our community, especially the homeless, loveless ones.The Nigerian proverb "It takes a whole village to raise a child" is realized in this symbol, since it was a community affair, involving the tribal village, as well as the family.Good habits of respect for self and others, discipline, positive thinking, expectations, compassion, empathy, charity, and self-direction are learned from childhood experiences.For they are the future, the seeds that will carry cultural values and practices into the next generation, children are essential to Kwanzaa.Children were cared for in a tribal village.Every person in the village was responsible for the safety and welfare of the children, even though the family that raised them was ultimately responsible.

The Seven Candles Candles are used to symbolically re-create the sun's power and to provide light.The celebration of fire through candle burning is not limited to one group or country.The candles are red, green, and black.The candle that symbolizes Umoja is lit on December 26.Three green candles and three red candles are placed to the right and left of the Umoja candle.Each day a candle is lit to represent one principle.The other candles are relit to give off more light.The number of candles burning is indicative of the principle being celebrated.Every celebration and festival includes fire in some form, and the illuminating fire of candles is a basic element of the universe.Like the sun, fire is irresistible and can destroy or create.

The red, black, and green flag was created by Marcus Garvey.The African gods are represented by the colors.Red is the color of the god of fire, thunder, and lightning, who lives in the clouds and sends his thunderbolt whenever he is angry or offended.It shows the struggle for freedom by people of color.Black represents hope, creativity, and faith, as well as the opening and closing of doors.Green represents the earth that sustains our lives and provides hope, divination, employment, and the fruits of the harvest.

The kinara is the center of the Kwanzaa setting and represents the original stalks from which we came.If the seven candles are separate and distinct, the kinara can be shaped like a candelabra.Kinaras are made from a wide range of materials, and many celebrants use fallen branches, wood, or other natural materials to create their own.The ancestors, who were once earth bound, understand the problems of human life, and are willing to protect their offspring from danger, are depicted in the kinara.Ancestors are remembered and honored in African festivals.The kinara holds the mishumaa saba.

The kikombe cha umoja is a special cup that is used to perform the libation ritual during the Karamu feast.libation is poured for the living dead who stay with the earth.The Ibo of Nigeria believe that to drink the last part of a libation is to invite the wrath of the spirits and the ancestors.The kikombe cha umoja is passed to family members and guests who drink from it to promote unity.The eldest person pours the libation, usually water, juice, or wine, in the direction of the four winds to honor the ancestors.The eldest wants the gods and ancestors to bless the people who are not at the gathering.After asking for the blessing, the elder pours the libation on the ground and the group says "Amen."Several families may have a cup that is specifically for the ancestors, and everyone else has his or her own.The host or hostess pours the last few ounces of the libation into the cup and then gives it to the oldest person in the group, who asks for the blessing.

When we celebrate Imani on the seventh day of Kwanzaa, we give gifts to encourage growth, self- determination, achievement, and success.Gifts are exchanged with members of our immediate family, especially the children, to promote or reward accomplishments and commitments kept, as well as with our guests.To avoid the chaos of shopping and consumption during the December holiday season, handmade gifts are encouraged.A family can spend the year making kinaras or make cards, dolls, and other items to give to their guests.Accepting a gift requires the recipient to follow the training of the host.The gift allows the receiver to share duties with a family member.Accepting a gift makes the receiver part of the family.

Excerpted from a book.The work was copyrighted in 1995 byDorothy Winbush Riley.Permission was granted from the division ofHarperCollins Publishers, which is calledHarperPerennial.

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