Happy Kwanzaa!

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Today marks the first day of Kwanzaa! 

The first principle of Kwanzaa is Umoja

Umoja means unity in Swahili.

Karenga defines this on his Kwanzaa website as: "To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race."

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Today is the second day of Kwanzaa!

The second principle of Kwanzaa is Kujichagulia (self-determination)

This principle refers to defining, naming, creating and speaking for oneself.

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Today is the third day of Kwanzaa!

The third principle of Kwanzaa is Ujima (collective work and responsibility)

Ujima refers to uplifting your community.

"To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together," Karenga writes.

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Today is the fourth day of Kwanzaa!

The fourth principle of Kwanzaa is Ujamaa (Cooperative economics)

Similar to Ujima, this principle refers to uplifting your community economically. "To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together," he writes.

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Today is the fifth day of Kwanzaa!

The fifth principle of Kwanzaa is Nia (Purpose)

Karenga expands on this principle with, "To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness."

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Today is the sixth day of Kwanzaa!

The sixth principle of Kwanzaa is Kuumba (creativity)

Karenga defines this principle as "To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it."

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Today is the seventh and final day of Kwanzaa!

The seventh principle of Kwanzaa is Imani (faith)

Karenga defines this as faith in community, writing, "To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle."