Whatever and whenever you celebrate, wishing you wonderful celebrations and happy times.
I have to admit to being a relative novice in terms of my knowledge about other festivals celebrated around the world and producing the Homeopathy for Health in Africa calendar last year was a great start to looking at festivals outside of my own experience.
The ideas behind Kwanzaa appeal to me and I think we may look to incorporate some of these in our seasonal celebrations.... Just in case you would like to find out more - here's a brief overview I've just pulled up from a google search:
- Kwanzaa is a nonreligious African-American celebration that was established in 1966.
- It is based on various African harvest celebrations.
- Kwanzaa begins on December 26 and continues for 7 days.
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| During each of the days of Kwanzaa, family members
gather to light one of seven candles. As each candle burns,
the family discusses one of the seven principles on which Kwanzaa
is based: |
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1. Unity
2. Self-determination
3. Collective responsibility
4. Cooperative economics
5. Purpose
6. Creativity
7. Faith |
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- Some communities collect food and clothing for the homeless
during the seven days of Kwanzaa.
- On the seventh night, there is a feast to which friends
and extended family members are invited. There are traditional
foods, and cards and gifts are exchanged (although the giving
of expensive commercial items is de-emphasized in favor
of simple, handmade gifts). There is also singing and dancing.
- People greet each other with the Swahili expression "Habari
gani," which means "What's new?" This is followed by a response
that relates to one of the seven principles.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonplans/profbooks/decceleb.htm |
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