Kwanzaa is a celebration that often gets overlooked at school for lots of reasons, not the least of which being its celebrated when most kids are not in school, the week after Christmas.
But it’s an important celebration for kids and adults to think about and honor, whether it’s something you do at home or in the classroom either before or after winter break.
If you need a refresher, Kwanzaa is a holiday created by Maulana Karenga and based on harvest festival traditions from southern and western Africa. It’s a seven-day celebration, with each day representing a principle of African heritage:
- Umoja, or unity
- Kujichagulia, self-determination
- Ujima, collective work and responsibility
- Ujamaa, cooperative economics
- Nia, purpose
- Kuumba, creativity
- Imani, faith
A kinara, a candle holder with places for seven candles, is commonly used during kwanzaa, with one candle being lit each day. Homeschool Superfreak has more details including what order the candles are lit, other symbols common in Kwanzaa celebrations, and information about how the holiday was developed, who celebrates it, whether it is religious and more. They also have a digital resource for purchase that includes activities and recipes for celebrating Kwanzaa.
Homeschool of 1 has some coloring pages and fact sheets about Kwanzaa you can print and use at home or in a classroom. They include information about the history of Kwanzaa, the symbols and the principles.
HMH has an activity idea for each day of the week, including a printable memory game, instructions for making different symbols of Kwanzaa, and a recipe people can work together to make.
Activity Village has a cute handprint kinara kids can make, or make one out of a paper plate with instructions from Craft Club.
Another important symbol that’s easy to create by crafting is a woven mat, known as a mkeka, where other important items are placed on the table. You can make one with the instructions from Free Kids Crafts or Make and Takes.
This pretty unity cup from HGTV is a reminder of the community that comes together to celebrate Kwanzaa and that it is community that gets us through whatever troubles we face.
If you want to cook something for Kwanzaa, consider traditional African and African American foods like jerk chicken, gumbo, peanut stew or grits. Sweet potatoes, plantains and greens are other good options.
You can also check out some books about Kwanzaa, such as:
- Together for Kwanzaa
- My First Kwanzaa ABC Picture Book
- Holidays around the World: Celebrate Kwanzaa (this book from National Geographic Kids is a good one, with photographs of real people celebrating, and the series includes lots of different holidays)
- My Family Celebrates Kwanzaa
- The Story of Kwanzaa
If your family celebrates Kwanzaa or you talk about it in your classroom, I’d love to hear about what you do!
[Kinara image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]
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