The Seven Days of Kwanzaa: Umoja (Day 1)

Kwanzaa is an annual African American celebration. It’s comprised of seven days where you’ll discuss and celebrate specific principles that are meant to strengthen relationships. These principles are known as the Nguzo Saba. To experience the full benefits of this tradition, it’s good to know what each principle represents and how to celebrate Kwanzaa properly.  An Introduction To Kwanzaa Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966 and is based on certain African festival traditions. The tradition is based on seven distinct principles and you’ll celebrate one per day. During Kwanzaa, you’ll need an altar, a unity cup, seven candles, and a kinara. Your altar should be placed on a table that is broad enough to hold everything that will be placed around the altar over the seven-day period. This table should be in the center of the room and you’ll place a traditional tablecloth as well as a mat or mkeka on it. The kinara is a candle holder that you’ll use to hold one black candle in the middle as well as three red candles to the left of the black one and three green candles to its right. Black represents the people, red represents their struggle, and the green...