#ForTheCulture: The 7 Principles Of Kwanzaa Explained

First and foremost...if you've ever wondered about celebrating Kwanzaa but thought it was against your religion...let us stop you there. You're in luck because Kwanzaa is NOT a religious holiday. Wanna know what it really is....great!!! Let's go!

There are 7 principles of Kwanzaa. While Kwanza isn't a holiday that is primarily religious centered, it does focus on family, community, and culture.

Here's a video that explains the 7 days of Kwanzaa:

Created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa always begins Dec. 26th. So see, you can do both. It's a weeklong celebration that wraps up Jan. 1. Kwanzaa is a Swahili word that means "first" and it signifies the first fruits of the harvest. While most of us aren't living in an agricultural setting like back in the day, when Karenga brought the idea of Kwanzaa to America, he sought to emphasize how the basic principles used in producing the harvest -- Umoja, Kujichagulia, Ujima, Ujamaa, Nia, Kuumba, Imani -- were vital to building and maintaining strong positive communities. 

The celebration of Kwanzaa is meant to be a time to reflect on one's daily use of the seven basic principles-- referred to in Swahili as Nguzo Saba--share and enjoy the fruits of one's labor with family and friends, and a time to recommit ourselves to the collective achievement of a better life for our community and our people. Let's take a deeper look into what the seven principles of Kwanzaa represent.

Nguzo Saba ( The Seven Principles)

1. Umoja (Unity) - Striving for and maintaining unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
2. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) - To define ourselves, name ourselves, create and speak for ourselves.
3. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) - To build and maintain our communities together. To make our brothers and sisters problems our problems and to work to solve them together.
4. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) - To build and maintain our own stores and shops and to profit from them together. #BuyBlack
5. Nia (Purpose) - To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
6. Kuumba (Creativity) - To always do as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our communities more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited them.
7. Imani (Faith) - To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Kwanzaa has so many positive nuggets embedded within its core principles. Per tradition, a new candle is lit each day to represent that day's core principle. Loved ones gather to discuss what that principle means to them and how it has affected their lives. 

With America's current climate, this is the time to support traditions that breathe positivity and progress into the hazardous air we've been breathing. Kwanzaa is a great tradition to sit back and really reflect on your impact to your people and your community and a great time to share those reflections with the ones you love the most. 

Happy Kwanzaa and Happy Holidays!