1. Use Crayola® crayons, colored pencils, or markers to color the Kwanzaa candles and kinara. 2. Cut out each item. 3. Glue the kinara onto construction paper. For each day during Kwanzaa, glue a candle onto the construction paper as follows below. Did you know?
Kwanzaa begins December 26 and lasts until the first day of January. Kwanzaa is a time when people come together to celebrate their African heritage. During Kwanzaa, families decorate their homes with many unique Kwanzaa symbols. One of the items is a Kinara, which is a candle holder. For each day of Kwanzaa a candle is lit to celebrate the seven Kwanzaa principles. Three candles should be colored red to represent struggles faced. Three should be colored green to represent a prosperous future. One large black candle in the center represents the richness of African skin. Day 1 – Umoja:
Color this candle black. Place it in the center of the kinara to represent unity. Day 2 – kujichagulia:
Color this candle red, and place it in the first spot to the left to represent self-determination. Day 3 – ujima:
Color this candle green. Place it in the first place to the right to represent responsibility. Day 4 – ujamaa:
Color this candle red. On this day a gift is given that the whole family can share. Place this candle next to the other red candles. Day 5 – nia:
Color this candle green. Place it next to the other green candle to represent purpose. Day 6 – kuumba:
Color this candle red. Place it next to the other red candles to represent creativity. Day 7 – imani:
Color this candle green. This candle represents good faith and believing everything good will happen.