Dec. 31 is the sixth day of the Kwanzaa celebration.
The principle for the day is Kuumba, which means creativity. On the sixth day, the black candle is lit, then the most-left red, the most-right green, the next red, the next green and then the final red candle.
Since the day falls on New Year’s Eve, it’s when the Karamu or Kwanzaa feast is held. Family and friends are invited to celebrate this day to increase the holiday spirit. Kwanzaa-celebrating families are also encouraged to decorate the home in a Kwanzaa theme with music in the background to match the theme. Holiday dishes are served as plays, poems, passages and anything creative related to Kwanzaa are performed.
The Unity cup, full of juice or water, is shared, and the candles are put out after the cup is passed around. “Tamshi La Tutaonana” written by Maulana Karenga, the inventor of Kwanzaa, is read by the oldest person in the room. The passage serves as a farewell statement for the year. Everyone present then chants “Harambee!” seven times to conclude the festivities.
