celebrating the principle of collective work and responsibility.
After the prayer, the older adults will prepare the libations as well as the unity cup or cups. The person who is responsible for lighting the candles will carry it out in this order – the black one is lit first, then the red candle to the left of it, and finally, the first green candle to the right.
The lit green candle symbolizes your commitment to working with others to build the community around you. As with the other days, the person who lights the candles will go on to make a statement about the principle of Ujima to enlighten those who are in the room. This is usually followed by a song, poem, passage, or story that highlights how Ujima is relevant to their lives. Interestingly, attendees are not only encouraged to discuss realistic ways that they can practice Ujima but they are also expected to do so.
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While presenting the details of your planned activities, you can decide to carry them out on the day or do them in the future. After the discussion, you’ll share the libations. If you’re sharing gifts, then that’s the next step of the celebrations. Once that has been done, the candles are extinguished and the day’s festivities are ended. If you made plans to do some community work on the day, then you’ll work on that afterward.
Having pledged unity, self-determination, and community work, you’ll be prepared to go even further in the subsequent days of the Kwanzaa celebration.