← Back to Sacred Calendar
🌍
Kwanzaa
A week-long celebration honoring African heritage and community values.
📅 December 26 – 7 days
✦ Why It Matters
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga as a celebration of African-American culture rooted in African harvest festival traditions. Each of the seven days honors one of the Nguzo Saba — seven core principles: Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity, and Faith.
✦ How It Is Observed
Lighting the kinara (7-branch candelabra), one candle per day for each principle, family gatherings, storytelling, African drumming and dance, communal meals, reflection on the seven principles (Nguzo Saba).
✦ Sacred Text
“I am because we are. Our individual growth is inseparable from the growth of our community. The harvest belongs to all.”
— Ubuntu philosophy ↗