Kwanzaa is a festival that lasts for 7 days. It celebrates the African American People and their history and culture. During Kwanzaa there is a celebration that is a time for gathering of the community and reflection on the parts of the African American culture. The Holiday begins the day after Christmas and goes on until New Years Day. Many people seem to think that Kwanzaa is another religious holiday however this is actually not the case, it is a remembrance holiday for African Americans. One of the parts of Kwanzaa is lightly the Kwanzaa Kinara and that includes a 7 day ritual of lighting a candle each day. The candles are placed in the Kinara in a certain order which includes three red candles on the left, one black candle in the middle, and three green candles to the right.
On the first day of Kwanzaa the black candle in the middle is lit. This candle is the representation of unity. Sometimes the words “Success starts with Unity. Unity of family, community, nation, and race” is said during the lighting of the first candle.
On the second day of Kwanzaa the black candle in the middle is lit again and the first red candle (the one on the far right) is lit as well. The second candle represents Self-Determination and is sometimes lit during the saying of “To be responsible for ourselves. To create your own destiny”.
On the third day of Kwanzaa the black candle is lit yet again as is the first red one and now the first green one (the one on the far left). This candle is lit to represent Collective work and responsibility and is sometimes lit during the words “To build and maintain your community together. To work together to help one another within your community”.
On the fourth day of Kwanzaa the black candle is lit yet again as is the first red one and the first green one. This time it is time to light the fourth candle which is the next red candle on the left. This means that the first 2 red candles are lit as well as the black one and the very last green one.
On the fifth day of Kwanzaa is when the fifth candle is lit. The black one is lit, then the farthest red one on the left, then the farthest green one on the right, then the second to the left red candle, and then the second to the right green candle. This candle represents Purpose and is sometimes lit with the words “To restore African American people to their traditional greatness. To be responsible to Those Who Came Before and to Those Who Will Follow”.
On the sixth day of Kwanzaa the last red candle is lit after the first 5 are lit again in order. This day is to commemorate creativity of the African American culture and the words “Using creativity and imagination to make your communities better than what you inherited” are used.
On the seventh day of Kwanzaa the last green candle is lit after the first 6 are lit in order. The final and last day of Kwanzaa is to commemorate and remember Faith. This day is about “Believing in our people, our families, our educators, our leaders, and the righteousness of the African American struggle.
The look and shape of the candles is not as important as their meaning, colors and placement and any type of candle can be used, including the new electric versions of the Kinara.
The information for this article was retrieved from www.holidays.net/kwanzaa. Any quotes in this article are from there.
