HOLYOKE — The first day of Kwanzaa, the annual, seven-day celebration of African-American culture, will be observed at Holyoke City Hall on Friday, December 26, at 10 a.m. The public is invited.
Each of the seven days celebrates one of the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. The First Principle, which will be observed on December 26, is Umoja — Unity.
Theresa Cooper-Gordon, a member of the organizing committee, said the embrace of unity was particularly appropriate in the face of divisions on the local and national levels. Umoja urges all to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and the world African community.
On January 1, Kwanzaa culminates in a communal feast called Karamu. The other days and themes are:
Kujichagulia (Self-determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves instead of being defined, named, created for, and spoken for by others.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and to make our sisters’ and brothers’ 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 development 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 it was when we inherited it.
IMANI (Faith): To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle for a new and better world.