DAY 1 of KWANZAA - Umoja (Unity)

Kwanzaa Week - December 26, 2013 to January 1, 2014

CITY CENTER Milwaukee |  It is again the season for Kwanzaa - 7 days of cultural celebration and renewing of how to be successful in the world.  The African-American tradition is the brainchild of Dr. Maulana Karenga.  This is the 47th year (1966-2013).

Founder's Official website - Click

The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits of the harvest".

An Enjoyable and RENEWING Kwanzaa

The seven (7) principles are:

• Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Kujichagulia (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems, and to solve them together.
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
• Nia (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Kuumba (Creativity): To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.
• Imani (Faith): To believe with all our hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.  Wikipedia

Kwanzaa symbols include a decorative mat (Mkeka) on which other symbols are placed, corn (Muhindi) and other crops, a candle holder kinara with seven candles (Mishumaa Saba), a communal cup for pouring libation (Kikimbe cha Umoja), gifts (Zawadi), a poster of the seven principles, and a black, red, and green flag.

================

Milwaukee Professionals Association LLC wishes you and yours a WEEK of Kwanzaa principles and renewing.