The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa, an African American celebration which was first celebrated in 1966-67 over the days of December 26 to January 1, Include:
· Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
· · Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.
· · Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' 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.
· · Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
· · I first started celebrating this Holiday Season with my dearest friends back in 1992 and have continued to do intermittently with friends and loved ones from all walks of life, gender, identity, ethnicity, age, and faiths. I feel truly blessed to have been introduced to this celebration that honors the present, past and future with such truth, humility, boldness and love!
Happy Kwanzaa to you and your loved ones!
· Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
· · Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.
· · Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' 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.
· · Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
· · I first started celebrating this Holiday Season with my dearest friends back in 1992 and have continued to do intermittently with friends and loved ones from all walks of life, gender, identity, ethnicity, age, and faiths. I feel truly blessed to have been introduced to this celebration that honors the present, past and future with such truth, humility, boldness and love!
Happy Kwanzaa to you and your loved ones!
