Expand Your Cultural Awareness with The Seven Days of Kwanzaa

Several years ago, when my brother Benjamin came home from college for Christmas, he and my brother Nathan went on a Christmas Eve shopping expedition and returned laden with gifts that showed up under the tree the next day in unusual wrapping. "I hope you're not offended," he said before he brought the presents from their hideaway in his room. During his shopping trip, he'd happened upon a roll of Kwanzaa paper, and the rich African designs struck his fancy. I don't know why he thought we'd be offended by such a display; I'm always happy to expand my cultural awareness, and that goes for the rest of my family. Those particular trappings just made his offerings that year all the more memorable.

I will admit, though, that my knowledge of Kwanzaa has been pretty limited, so I was happy to come across The Seven Days of Kwanzaa, a small paperback book that uses the framework of The Twelve Days of Christmas to explain the traditions of this relatively new holiday. A note by author Melrose Cooper in the back goes into greater detail discussing its origins in an African harvest festival and noting that the words used for the days of the week-long celebration are in Kiswahili, with which I am vaguely familiar in association with Lieutenant Uhura from the original Star Trek series.

The days and related objects are as follows:

Umoja (Unity) - a promise for unity
Kujichagulia (Control) - two drums
Ujima (Cooperation) - red (for struggle and bloodshed), green (for fairness and plant life) and black (for the people)
Ujamaa (Sharing of Profits) - four dollars
Nia (Purpose) - five friends
Kuumba (Creativity) - six handmade presents
Imani (Faith) - seven candles

Jeremy Tugeau’s pictures, which have a smudgy quality to them, depict several scenes of family togetherness and celebration of one’s culture. As the members of the extended family gather, they create gifts, make music and light candles, expressions of jubilation on their faces and colorful clothing on their bodies.

For children and for adults who want to learn a bit about this holiday, The Seven Days of Kwanzaa is a basic but enlightening introduction.