Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the African diaspora in the Americas.

The celebration honors African heritage in African-American culture and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving. Kwanzaa has seven core principles (Nguzo Saba).

• 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.


• 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.

It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966–67.