Celebrate Kwanzaa – Here’s a list of events in the Sacramento region this week
Sacramento author Crystel Patterson didn’t grow up celebrating Kwanzaa. She came to the holiday later in life, incorporating the celebration into her family’s traditions eight years ago with her husband.
Her family of four observes the holiday through traditional feasts, gifts and in-depth conversations exploring Black culture and African heritage.
Kwanzaa is a seven-day observance, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, internationally recognized as a traditional pan-African holiday celebrating Blackness and emphasizing the importance of family and social values.
In response to the Watts uprising in 1965, the holiday was created and first celebrated in 1966 by Malauna Karenga, a professor at California State University, Long Beach.
The name of the holiday comes from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits.”
The nguzo saba, which means “seven principles” in Swahili, is the foundation for the week-long celebration, with each day symbolizing one of the principles, and candles in the kinara, a seven-branched candelabra. The middle candle is black, three candles on the left are red, and three candles on the right are green.
“Just like how there are things in the Bible that ground people and it helps them kind of live by a code,” Patterson said, “I feel like that’s what Kwanzaa is for Black people, a code that we can live by to help us thrive and really be productive.”
The seven principles of Kwanzaa
Day one, or the first principle, signifies “umoja,” or unity. It encourages the African diaspora to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. The pan African symbol of unity is a dagi knot.
Day two is “kujichagulia,” meaning self-determination to define ourselves, name ourselves, and speak for ourselves. The symbol for national identity, cultural grounding and rightful governance is Ahenwa, the Akan throne.
Day three is “ujima,”which means collective work and responsibility, to build and maintain the community together, with the community’s problems being all’s problems to solve together. The akoma ntoaso is the Adinkra symbol of shared effort and obligation.
Day four is “ujamaa,” meaning cooperative economics. It focuses on building and maintaining Black businesses together to profit. This symbol is the Nsibidi made up of two interlocking half circles signifying togetherness and family.
Day five is ”nia,” meaning purpose, with the focus on reflecting on collective vocation, and how to build community to restore African-Americans to their original greatness. The hieroglyph Nefer, an ancient Egyptian symbol of beauty and good, represents the fifth principle.
Day six is “kuumba,” or creativity, with the intent to find ways always to do as much as possible to leave the community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. Its symbol is the dogon symbol of creativity, the seven vibrations of divine creation.
Day seven, the final day, is “Imani,” meaning faith, which is to believe in the people, parents, teachers, leaders, righteousness and victory of struggle. This final day concludes with an enormous feast among loved ones.
Sacramento events
Kwanzaa is intended for descendants of the African diaspora, however it is open to all people.
In 1971, a free Saturday school called Shule Jumamose in Oak Park first held a Kwanzaa event in Sacramento.
This year, different community organizations are hosting events for each day of the holiday.
Monday
Umoja: 24th Annual California State Capitol Kwanzaa Workshop and Unity Celebration
1317 15th St.
11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tickets: Free
Wo’se Community Church Zoom gathering
6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Registration: Free
Tuesday
Kujichagulia: 2022 Sacramento Waterfront Kwanzaa Celebration
Old Sacramento Waterfront, Front Street
1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Registration: Free, $20 for California Grown Food and Wine Tasting
UMOJA Productions Children’s Kwanzaa
Robert Family Development Center
770 Darina Ave.
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Wednesday
Ujima: California State Capitol Kwanzaa Tour and Celebration
1209 L St., Room 126
Noon to 4 p.m.
Registration: Free
Wo’se Community Church
9014 Bruceville Road, Elk Grove
6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Thursday
Ujamaa: Greater Sacramento NAACP, California Black Chamber of Commerce and the Sacramento Kings celebrate Kwanzaa
500 David J Stern Walk
Noon to 2 p.m.
Registration: $75
2251 Florin Road
Noon to 7 p.m.
Movie for youth, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday
Nia: Fenix Drum and Dance Company at Del Paso Heights Library
920 Grand Ave.
3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Karamu feast will be catered by Caribbean Breeze Restaurant
Saturday
Kuumba: Black Family Day at the Shakur Center
3841 4th Ave.
Noon to 7 p.m.
Center for Spiritual Awareness
1275 Starboard Dr., West Sacramento
4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Sunday
Imani: Safe Black Space hosts 3rd annual Kwanzaa celebration
Unity Church
9249 Folsom Blvd.
2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
This story was originally published December 26, 2022 at 5:00 AM.