Updated: 1:41 PM CST Dec 16, 2020
Zarah A. Kavarana
Long after the last leftover latke has been eaten and Santa has returned home to the North Pole, there's still one more December holiday to end the gift-giving season that's all about celebrating African American culture and community.
Kwanzaa, a seven-night festival, starts on Dec. 26 and ends on Jan. 1 with gift-giving and a festive feast of faith, known as Karamu Ya Imani. Each night, celebrants light a candle from the kinara
, a traditional candleholder, take sips from the same Unity Cup, called Kikombe cha Umoja, and discuss one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa, aka the Nguzo Saba: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.