The Seven Principles Of Kwanzaa (12-26-24-01-01-25)

Each of the days of the celebration is dedicated to one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa

There also are seven symbols of Kwanzaa holiday, there is fruits (organic) you have the vegetables (organic) and nuts, a straw mat, I use Kente Cloth mat, the candleholder, an ear of corn (maize), homemade gifts, a communal cup, which signifies unity, and more importantly, the seven candles in the African traditional colors of red, green, and black, symbolizing the seven principles.

I will be posting my daily mantras or incantations throughout the duration.

The Order of Lighting Kwanzaa Candles (2024-2025)

Umoja (Unity) – The black candle located in the center of the kinara is lit first on December 26th. It represents the foundational principle of unity, emphasizing the importance of coming together as a community.
Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) – On December 27th, the first red candle to the left of the black candle is lit. This candle represents the principle of self-determination, encouraging individuals to strive for independence and define their own path.
Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) –On December 28th, the first green candle to the right of the black candle is lit. It symbolizes the principle of collective work and responsibility, highlighting the importance of collaboration and working together for the betterment of the community.
Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) –On December 29th, the second red candle is lit. This candle represents the principle of cooperative economics, urging individuals to support and build prosperous businesses and institutions within their community.
Nia (Purpose) –On December 30th, the second green candle is lit. It symbolizes the principle of purpose, encouraging individuals to set and pursue meaningful goals for themselves and their community.
Kuumba (Creativity) –On December 31st, the third red candle is lit. This candle represents the principle of creativity, inspiring individuals to use their imagination and skills to create positive and impactful change.
Imani (Faith) –On January 1st, the third and final green candle is lit. It symbolizes the principle of faith, encouraging individuals to believe in themselves, their community, and the possibility of a better future.
cited 12-24-24

Umoja (Unity)

The black candle located in the center of the kinara is lit first on December 26th. It represents the foundational principle of unity, emphasizing the importance of coming together as a community.

Finding The Serenity Within

For every hand I have held for every breath my care has seen in my time to be
May it always have been helpful to that woman, man, or child to the next elevation of their spiritual journey
I have raised awareness the voice of my concern for my love of my charities
Thank you to the will of Allah for allowing me to assist daily the ones who would like to do, but life
survival must come first
No money, no offerings, but sometimes the wind consoles within the sound of cheerful mirth
Therefore, please give to the faithful, to the ones who could, to the ones who give smiles of comfort, to uplift someone’s worth
In Umoja the principles are within the community to share
Kindness is easy, yet, before we can tear others down, our own house has already crumple
Be the navigator, whereas, in your own life you will never stumble
If you do, so what, get back up
Uphold your head high, do not succumb to eternal conflict within self, keep your temple pure, good thoughts, negate grave energy, and softy sip from your own Sacred Holy Grail Cup

If you ask me to, I would
I am the type of woman, and yes you could
Of course I will wipe your eyes, and help you to get off your knees
We are about ready to walk over the threshold of another year, hopefully, what once was, shall become again
As living among society will need stability in our life and unity, do not make your life a living sin
I say that in respect of meaning, no bitterness, no resentment, no jealousy
Always remember to say, thank you, and please’

The step upon my journey in my life’s path I have regrets
In the state of grace, I bowed, I lifted my eyes to the skies and asked my Creator, what’s next
Life is too short and hanging on borrowed time
Try as you can, know what importance is, it is the gift from the divine

This beautiful world is vast, with different races
So many faces
It feels like mental utopia when you meet and greet in faraway gathering places
Intellectual human beings beguiling you with caressing dialects
Well of course, if you can make my chocolate melt
As we sit and discuss uniting and bringing our melaninated hues together
Give me a sign I will hold it high
Your eyes in shock to read the word, be peaceful, and a bullhorn, I will bridge hands, wherever you stand
To be in sync with self, you tend to sway in the wind

Seeing cultures, bow in grace to those traditions that make future generations grand
May the seeds of companion be planted in Mother Nature fertile land
Unite as one soul blending and infusing the Pineal Gland with perceptions in one single cell
Universal love from mortals you can never tell
I have found my key to life to bestow humbling grace, a mentality configurated since my first word was, let’s do this
Learning for me has been life’s greatest bliss

Knowledge and Power are the doorway to the subconscious, elevating that dopamine in the divine mist
Eash second on the clock is for better chances
Mmm.. soft and candlelight romances
Searching for the divine oath, written across the majestic sky
You must honor your heart, and allow your mind to soar for lessons to abet the soul once the spirit flies

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) – On December 27th, the first red candle to the left of the black candle is lit. This candle represents the principle of self-determination, encouraging individuals to strive for independence and define their own path.

You'll light the black candle and the far left red candle.

We celebrate in offering unto the ancestral spirituals of past, present and generation the future with the respect to walk and uphold the principles of determination, within that right of self to be mindful and respectful of others.

My Ancestral Dreamweavers

Words of disfranchise weighs heavy upon war torn lands  
No time in life to point daggers where united souls must come to stand      
King and Queens with thrones as a sense of honor we must atone      
The reflection of disunity in the mirror is yours alone      
   
Uplift the burdens of your cause, give it purpose, make it shine      
You have yours I have mine      
My destiny has been ordained by the alliance of women by divine      
I am the bearer, my womb is to give life        
And to be a sacred helpmeet unto man to orate generations from his roaring loins as I become his wife    
     
I am the neck you cannot turn without the feminism intelligence as being the head  
Words to teach, reach, or preach is what needs to be heard after it’s all done and said      
There are too many who have a foot on society’s necks      
Wolf in sheep's clothing with revolutionary agendas I hear at best      
Now place your name on a foundation, volunteer your time in its cause, or invest
If not, step aside so I can continue to hold broken souls, dry eyes from burdensome they have wept  
I do not stand in the synagogue of darkness and profess the light of the truth
The winds know the fossils of my time and upon its breeze, I stand with the most revered soothing hues

You cannot marginalize what your intellect will never come to understand or try to dissect the morality of the mind
When you peep inside you just might come to fine
We are not from the same origin, and not the same kind
Some is of the Kente Cloth, and some on flaming blankets of dusk living on borrowed time
     
If you have not dug your hands deep in foreign lands      
Felt the pain seeping from crackled terrain, or have studied the history of man
Written before taken your first breath by the rulers of the sand
Have heard the cry of blood, sweat, and tears      
Who he speaks quiet in his oration can move mountains without the capitalization of fears        
Embedding the cognizance thinkers with articles of the Constitution      
Have you taken a stance on the revelations or marched for its unfair contributions
If all your narrow eyes see is the dissection of your own none and voided history, it makes it much easier in ignorance to forsake others
What God put together no man can asunder
The guidance of our ancestors is our mothers
And the land we draw resources from is our fathers      
     
Why are you upon the shores, giving less than providing more      
Words are a means of false vanity once they pour        
Actions have always spoken louder than idle words      
Without a ship to sail or an able body at the helm      
It will always be the true calling of one’s existence of undocumented narratives of history, denying us, and illuminating from the Crows of Jim    
     
Within my presence as I stand is to heal, by compassion, by actions, or by the laws of my degrees      
Phrases have never defined the source of endeavors or the minds I attempt to spiritually or economically feed      
Or my political agendas, my saucy cravings, or the tastes of my mmm.. or my ahhs… my written tease to mentally please        
Variations of beautiful skin tones prosperous of wonders from day until the calling  of midnight      
I do not have a gavel in my hand, incarceration man by time, patting you down, my cosmic observations is not your plight      
     
Admiration comes henceforth for some with no recognition and a closed mouth      
Take my baton my sista, my brother as I pass it to you and make it fly, run with it, give it clout      
The agony of disparity the streets cries, the next generation we must reward, we’re  losing the battle from the North, East, West, and the South        
Education of lineage, we must tell of the struggles, donations we repay with truth is what this world is all about        
Queens' uplift      
Be thy King’s keeper      
In the midst of the garden, there still remains, riddled Intellects to dishearten
Who I will always call mindless sleepers

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Kente cloth is historically associated with the Asante Empire (also spelled Ashanti), a political state that began in the late 17th century in what is today the
West African country of Ghana.

Kente is a meaningful sartorial device, as every aspect of its aesthetic design is intended as communication.

The colors of the cloth each hold symbolism: gold = status/serenity, yellow = fertility, green = renewal, blue = pure spirit/harmony, red = passion, black = union with ancestors/spiritual awareness.