Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 12-27-19

Kwanzaa
4 Easy Steps To Celebrating Kwanzaa
Step One: Get your stuff.
The visuals of Kwanzaa are pretty simple. You can get a kit, go to an African market, or get creative. Can- dles in a Kinara are the tra- ditional way of doing Kwanzaa, but if you don’t have the time or energy to pull that together, don’t. If you’re reflecting on the prin- ciples you’re doing Kwanzaa.
For Kwanzaa, the main elements are:
• Mkeka: Mat The Mkeka is the base of your Kwanzaa table. The foundation. Historically, it is a raffia or straw woven mat with an earthy vibe.
• Kinara: Candleholder The centerpiece of your Kwanzaa table is your ki- nara, candleholder.
• Mishumaa Saba: The Seven Candles (three red,
one black, and three green) • Kikombe cha Umoja: Unity Cup
In Kwanzaa pictures, the unity cup is depicted as a wooden chalice, but any larger, attractive cup will work. We all sip from the cup at our immediate family cel- ebrations, but in larger groups, it’s appropriate to just dip your finger in the cup. Whatever you do, agree on it beforehand, no one wants to sip after everyone else has dipped.
• Mazao: Harvest This is represented by fruits or vegetables on your Kwan- zaa table.
• Muhindi: The Corn Dried ears of corn that repre- sent children or abundance. Traditionally, you have one ear for each child in the house, plus one additional ear.
• Zawadi: Gifts Ideally, these are handmade, educational and purchased from a black-owned busi- ness.
Step Two:
Get Your People.
A Kwanzaa celebration is two people or 2,000. 20 is a sweet spot. Because you will be actively reflecting on the
principle of the day, 20 peo- ple or so is a good amount that allows everyone to talk without the ceremony drag- ging on FOREVER!
Step Three: Get Food.
Duh. When in the history of ever do our folk have a cel- ebration without refresh- ments? Depending on your budget or bandwidth you can cook yourself, ask everyone to bring something or have it catered. Don’t invite people over without some kind of food plan.
Step Four: Get Serious.
Kwanzaa is 100 percent fun, but it was started as a nation-building tool during the Black Nationalist move- ment in the 1960s. It’s an op- portunity for black people (and our invited guests) to reflect on important princi- ples, share our victories with each other, and reinforce the values of our community.
Kwanzaa is not a con- sumerist holiday. The im- portant part of your Kwanzaa fest is coming to- gether with friends and fam- ily to be festive and reflect on
the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles, which make up the seven days of Kwanzaa: ● Umoja: Unity - Unity in the family, community, na- tion, and race ● Kujichagulia: Self-Deter- mination - To define our- selves, name ourselves and not be defined by others.
● Ujima: Collective work and responsibility - To work together and be accountable to each other.
● Ujamaa: Cooperative eco- nomics - Combining our en- ergy and focus to build businesses, economic stabil- ity and to support each other’s economic goals.
● Nia: Purpose - Knowing what your goals are both per- sonally and in the commu- nity, and working towards them.
● Kuumba: Creativity - Creating, beautifying and staying fly.
● Imani: Faith - Believing in our people, our families, and the righteousness and vic- tory of our struggle.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2019