Happy Kwanzaa!

December 26 - January 1 

Kwanzaa is a cultural observance created in 1966 to celebrate African inspired traditional values and African American ancestry and heritage. Kwanzaa ("first fruits of the harvest" in Swahili) is being observed by increasing numbers of African Canadian families. 

On each day of the week during Kwanzaa, a candle is lit in a seven-branched candelabrum called a kinara, to represent one of the seven principles celebrated during Kwanzaa: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Children often receive educational and cultural gifts, and the week may end with a great feast - the Kwanzaa Karamu - followed by dance, music and readings. (adapted from A Chorus of Cultures: Developing Literacy Through Multicultural Poetry, by Alm Flor Ada, Violet J. Harris & Lee Bennett Hopkins).

We join you in wishing students, staff and members of the community who will be celebrating Kwanzaa a joyful time of celebration.