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| The Holiday Season Continues. Joyous KWANZAA |
KWANZAA
JOYOUS KWANZAA IS THE PROPER GREETING FOR TODAY. YES, KWANZAA IS A FAIRLY NEW HOLIDAY MAKING
ITS WAY INTO THE MAINSTREAM OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON, BEGINNING DECEMBER 26 AND
ENDING ON NEW YEAR’S DAY. IT ORIGINATED
IN 1966 BY DR. MAULANA KARENGA TO CELEBRATE THE AFRICAN FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND
CULTURE. THE WORD KWANZAA MEANS, “FIRST
FRUITS” IN SWAHILI. SWAHILI IS THE WIDEST
SPOKEN AFRICAN LANGUAGE AND RECOGNIZED THROUGH ALL OF AFRICAN DIASPORA. KWANZAA CELEBRATES THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OVER
ITS SEVEN DAYS. THOSE PRINCIPLES ARE:
UNITY, SELF-DETERMINATION, COLLECTIVE WORK AND RESPONSIBILITY, COOPERATIVE
ECONOMICS, PURPOSE, CREATIVITY, AND FAITH.
THE KINARA, WHICH IS A SEVEN CANDLE CANDLESTICK, REPRESENTS EACH ONE OF
THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES. THE BLACK CANDLE
IS LIT FIRST REPRESENTING UNITY AND THE OTHER SIX PRINCIPLES BALANCE THE HEART
OF THIS HOLIDAY OF SOLIDARITY AND COMMUNITY.
KWANZAA WAS BORN DURING THE HEAT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AS A WAY OF
OFFERING A STABILIZED IDENTITY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ANGER AND HATE OF
RACISM. HERE WE ARE FORTY -EIGHT YEARS
LATER AND OUR NEWSCAST ARE FULL OF VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK PEOPLE. LET’S PULL
TOGETHER THIS KWANZAA TO STAND TOGETHER WITH OUR AFRICAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS
AS THE STRIVE TO FIND FAITH AND HOPE IN A COUNTRY THAT IS OFTEN HOSTILE AND
HATE FILLED TOWARD THEM. WE ARE IN DEEP
NEED OF PEACE WITHIN OUR OWN COUNTRY THIS YEAR AND I FEEL IT IS FOOLISH TO
FOCUS OUTSIDE OF OUR OWN BORDERS UNTIL WE HAVE PEACE WITHIN. WATCH THIS THREE-MINUTE VIDEO AS AN ACT OF
SOLIDARITY TODAY: HTTP://WWW.HISTORY.COM/TOPICS/HOLIDAYS/KWANZAA-HISTORY
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