What does the basket of fruit represent in Kwanzaa?
The baskets of fruit also demonstrate the farmers’ sacrifice and collective labor to reaffirm commitment and responsibility to the community. Throughout Kwanzaa, gifts are given to children in order to promote self-determination, purpose and creativity.
What items are used to celebrate Kwanzaa?
Kwanzaa celebratory symbols include a mat (Mkeka) on which other symbols are placed:
- a Kinara (candle holder for seven candlesticks)
- Mishumaa Saba (seven candles)
- mazao (crops)
- Mahindi (corn), to represent the children celebrating (and corn may be part of the holiday meal).
What is Kwanzaa food?
Main dishes are always the highlight of dinner. For your Kwanzaa meal, try African creole, Cajun catfish, jerk chicken, or Groundnut stew, a tasty dish from West Africa. For your side we’ve got many traditional Kwanzaa recipes, including Jollof rice, collard greens, Kwanzaa slaw, grits, beans and rice, and okra.
What does a kinara look like?
The kinara is the center of the Kwanzaa setting and represents the original stalk from which we came: our ancestry. The kinara can be shape – straight lines, semicircles, or spirals – as long as the seven candles are separate and distinct, like a candelabra. The mishumaa saba are placed in the kinara.
What are the symbols of Kwanzaa in Swahili?
Assembling the Kwanzaa display. An arrangement of items that represent seven symbols is the visual centerpiece of Kwanzaa, which comes from the Swahili phrase “ matunda ya kwanza ” or first fruits. First, a mat ( Mkeka) is placed down. That’s a symbol of tradition. All other symbols are placed on top of it.
What do people give their children for Kwanzaa?
During Kwanzaa, children are traditionally given gifts, like books or things of cultural value, that will help educate them about their African roots. Handmade presents are encouraged and heritage symbols (like a piece of jewelry made in Africa) are customary.
What kind of cloth is used for Kwanzaa?
Today, celebrants of Kwanzaa buy mkeka that are fashioned from Kente cloth, African mud cloth, and other textiles from various areas of the African continent. The mishumaa saba, the vibunzi, the mazao, the zawadi, the kikombe cha umoja and the kinara are placed directly on the mkeka.
Where does the holiday of Kwanzaa come from?
It is observed from December 26 through January 1 and its origins may be found in the first harvest celebrations of Africa, from which this holiday takes its name. Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase, “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African tongue that is the most widely spoken language of Africa.