Kwanzaa
The word “Kwanzaa” is taken from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” which means “first fruits” in this language.
What is Swahili?
The date on which Christmas is celebrated in the United States.
What is December 25?
New Year’s Eve is most commonly celebrated around the world on this date.
What is December 31st?
Hanukkah is a winter celebration in this religious tradition.
What is Judaism?
St. Lucia is celebrated each year on December 13 for this reason.
What is closeness to the winter solstice?
The winter solstice is the shortest, darkest day of the year. The festival marks the return of light after the darkest part of winter.
Celebrated every year from December 26 through January 1, Kwanzaa is a week of festivities honoring this culture and heritage.
What is African American?
In 1966, Dr. Maulanga Karenga created Kwanzaa to encourage pride within the Black community, as well as connection with African roots after the deadly riots of the Watts Rebellion.
Christmas celebrates this event of great importance to Christians.
What is the birth of Jesus Christ?
As Mr. Niedenthal shared in All School Meeting, this Jewish New Year event starts in fall, rather than winter.
What is Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah began on September 11th this year. It is currently year 5787 on the Hebrew calendar.
True or False: Hanukkah is one of the most important days in the Jewish calendar.
What is False?
Hanukkah is a minor festival and does not hold the religious significance of days such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover. It is a popular holiday, however, and is widely celebrated.
Name two countries in which St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated.
What are Sweden, Norway, and Swedish speaking areas of Finland, as well as parts of Italy?
(Any two correct answers are acceptable.)
Kwanzaa centers on this number of principles.
What is seven?
The seven principles are umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani (faith). One principle is celebrated on each day of Kwanzaa.
The tradition of decorating Christmas trees began in the 1500s in this European country.
What is Germany?
Early trees were decorated with apples, nuts, and sweets.
True or False: The ball drop in Times Square in New York City has happened every year since 1907.
What is False?
The celebration did not happen in 1943 or 1944 due to World War II blackouts.
The eight-night celebration of Hanukkah is also known by this name.
What is the Festival of Lights?
During the festival procession, girls wear a lighted wreath on this part of their body.
What is their head?
According to legend, St. Lucia would secretly bring food to the Christians hiding in Roman catacombs under the city. She would light her way with candles held in a wreath on her head so she could have both hands free to carry things such as food.
True or False: Kwanzaa is a religious celebration only observed by Black people.
What is False?
Although most people who observe Kwanzaa have African roots, people of all races and religions are invited to celebrate. Kwanzaa is a cultural celebration, not a religious one.
True or False: Christmas celebrations were made illegal in England and America for part of the 17th century.
What is True?
In 1644, members of the British government felt that the religious meaning of Christmas had been forgotten, so they banned the holiday festivities for almost 20 years!
This Asian celebration follows the lunar calendar, so the date changes every year.
What is Lunar New Year?
We will also accept Chinese New Year, although Lunar New Year is a more inclusive term.
The Year of the Ram will begin on February 6, 2027.
Hanukkah celebrates this event.
What is the Maccabees reclaiming the Temple in Jerusalem from the Syrian-Greeks?
After the Maccabee victory, they cleansed and rededicated the temple. As the story goes, they required a holy light to burn inside at all times, but the Jews had only enough oil for one night. Incredibly, the light burned for eight days.
During the procession, candlelight is accompanied by this famous song.
What is “Sankta Lucia”?
The three main colors of Kwanzaa - red, green, and black - represent these things.
What is red, representing struggle; green, representing the land and hope for the future; and black, representing people of African descent?
This country provides the Christmas tree for Trafalgar Square (in London) every year.
What is Norway?
Since 1947, the city of Oslo in Norway has given the tree to London in gratitude for Britain's support during World War II.
This Persian celebration of New Year starts every year on the vernal equinox in March at the end of winter.
What is Nowruz? (no-ROOZ)
Nowruz lasts for 13 days. It celebrates rebirth, renewal, and the triumph of light over darkness.
Latkes, sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), and apple fritters have something in common with this deep meaning during Hanukkah.
What is being fried in oil?
People fry their food in oil for Hanukkah as a symbol of the miracle oil that burned for eight nights straight.
This baked good is popular during the holiday. In Swedish, it is called “lussekatter.”
What is saffron bread?
A ‘lussekatt’ (directly translated as ‘Lucia cat’), is typically shaped into the letter ‘S’ to look like a curled-up cat, with raisins for decoration to represent a cat’s eyes.