After all, one can’t pour from an empty cup! The first principle of Kwanzaa, Umoja, means unity. It promotes striving for unity in your community. However, one can’t be unified with others if ...

A Kwanzaa altar or table display typically includes: • A mat (Mkeka), which symbolizes present and ancestral work. • A unity cup (Kikombe cha Umoja) used to perform a ritual with libations.

Central to the festivities is the lighting of candles and pouring of libations—a ritual act of honoring ancestors and the divine by offering drinks from a wooden unity cup. Each day of Kwanzaa ...

I don’t remember when my family first introduced me to Kwanzaa. I was born to activist ... I sipped on the unity cup as a kid, watching those who’d gathered pay respects to our elders and ...

These include crops (Mazao), a mat (Mkeka), a candleholder (Kinara), corn (Muhindi), seven candles (Mishumaa Saba), a unity cup (Kikombe cha Umoja), and gifts (Zawadi). The Kwanzaa flag ...

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 as a secular holiday ... “We loved exploring the Unity Cup and talking about the creativity theme,” she said. “We were given a pamphlet, so I think we’ll ...

and tradition), a Kikombe cha Umoja (a unity cup) and Zawadi (gifts), the website reads. Kwanzaa gets its name from the Swahili phrase, “matunda ya kwanza,” which means first fruits in Swahili ...

Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebrate in African ... ears of corn; gifts; a communal cup, signifying unity; and seven candles in the African colors of red, green, and black, symbolizing the seven ...