In conjunction with the MOJA Arts Festival, the United States Postal Service will celebrate the First Day of Issue of the new Kwanzaa Forever Stamp designed by world renowned artist, Synthia SAINT JAMES, along with art director Greg Breeding, on October 1, 2016, at 12:30 p.m. The program will take…
Kwanzaa day 1: Umoja
On the first day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Umoja (oo-MO-jah), which means unity. The purpose of this day is to strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. Though all expressions and ideas of Kwanzaa are equally important, Umoja is the foundation of success because…
Kwanzaa day 3: Ujima
On the third day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Ujima (oo-jee-mah), which means collective work and responsibility. The purpose of this day is to focus on ways to build and maintain our community as a collective force. It also represents the recognition and respect of the idea that without our collective work…
Kwanzaa day 5: Nia
On the fifth day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Nia (NEE-AH), which means purpose. The purpose of this day is to review our purpose of living and commit to the collective vocation of building, developing and defending our national community, its culture and history in order to regain our historical initiative…
Kwanzaa day 7: Imani
On the seventh day of Kwanzaa we celebrate Imani, which means faith. The purpose of this day is to believe and trust in ourselves, our community, as well as our ability to overcome adversity while making progress together. In the context of African spirituality, faith begins with belief in the…
Kwanzaa day 6: Kuumba
On the sixth day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Kuumba (KOO-M-BAH), which means creativity. The purpose of this day is to build and develop our creative potential. It is a commitment to being creative within the context of the national community vocation of restoring our people to their traditional greatness, thus…
Kwanzaa day 4: Ujamaa
On the fourth day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Ujamaa (OO-JAH-MAH), which means cooperative economics. The purpose of this day is to commit to the practice of shared social wealth and the work necessary to achieve it. The Ujamaa principle empowers families to come together centered around their collective economic interest…
Kwanzaa day 2: Kujichagulia
On the second day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Kujichagulia (CO-GEE-CHA-GOO-LEE-AH), which means self-determination. The purpose of this day is to ensure that we, as African people, define and develop ourselves instead of allowing or encouraging others to do so. It demands that we recover our memory and shape our worldview in…
Kwanzaa day 7- Imani (faith)
Photo: ef-cbs.com On the seventh day of Kwanzaa we celebrate Imani, which means faith. The purpose of this day is to believe and trust in ourselves, our community, as well as our ability to overcome adversity while making progress together. In the context of African spirituality, faith begins with belief…
Kwanzaa day 6- Kuumba (creativity)
Photo: ef-cbs.com On the sixth day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Kuumba (KOO-M-BAH), which means creativity. The purpose of this day is to build and develop our creative potential. It is a commitment to being creative within the context of the national community vocation of restoring our people to their traditional…