Wednesday is the first day of Kwanzaa, an annual weeklong celebration of African-American families, culture and heritage.
Each day is marked the lighting of a candle to symbolize one aspect of the seven principles of the celebration.
Kwanzaa is not a holiday affiliated with a religion but a broader social celebration of community.
Kwanzaa is celebrated over seven nights. Each night, families gather around a candleholder called a kinara to light a new candle, which symbolizes one of Kwanzaa’s seven principles.
The principles are: Umoja, or unity; Kuji-chagulia, self-determination; Ujima, collective work and responsibility; Ujamaa, cooperative economics; Nia, purpose; Kuumba, creativity; and Imani, faith.
The candles are black, red and green, the traditional colors of Kwanzaa. Activities differ from community to community and family to family, but Kwanzaa is usually celebrated with stories, songs and dancing.
IN THE MIDSTATE
While Kwanzaa is celebrated over seven days, this year the YaaKofi Ama Nia House in Harrisburg is holding its festivities on Sunday.
At 3 p.m., it will host a community wide event at its headquarters at 1800 Market St. The celebration is being organized by the Daughters of ANKH, one of the Nia House’s programs for young African-American women.
The event, which is open to the public, will include traditional dances, story-telling and art, followed by a dinner. For more information, visit www.yaakofiamaniahouse.com.
The celebration of Kwanzaa began in 1966, when it was started by scholar and activist Maulana Karenga, who was looking for a way to get African-Americans to celebrate their culture and community.
It was created on the mold of traditional African harvest festivals — in fact, the name Kwanzaa is drawn from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which means first fruits of the harvest.
Today it is celebrated by millions of Americans and in several other nations.