Diabetes And Special Occasions

Kwanzaa: A Diabetes Friendly Holiday

Nestled between Christmas and New Year’s is Kwanzaa, an African-American celebration and reaffirmation of community, culture, and family. Kwanzaa is a Swahili word for “first fruits.” Because it is not a religious holiday, it is often celebrated along with Christmas in many African-American homes. For the diabetes community, the celebration of Kwanzaa falls in line with the celebration of a healthy lifestyle. This is because Kwanzaa encompasses the whole life — mind, body, and spirit — as it pertains not only to the individual, but to the entire community.

The weeklong holiday begins December 26th and ends New Year’s Day, with each day focusing on a specific principle of Kwanzaa.

The Kwanzaa Principles

The seven principles of Kwanzaa are called the Nguzo Saba. In order, they are:

Umoja (Unity) – To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) – To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) – To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.

Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) – To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Nia (Purpose) – To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Kuumba (Creativity) – 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.

Imani (Faith) – To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

>>NEXT: Find out more about Kwanzaa's celebrations.>>