Habari Gani? KUUMBA!
Today, on the sixth day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Kuumba or Creativity which is to do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful & beneficial than we inherited it.
This sixth day is one of the most lively and festive of the holiday. Falling on December 31, New Years Eve, it is a time to celebrate!
Today is the Karamu feast, one of the most significant Kwanzaa celebrations overall. While the Karamu feast has various levels of formality — key elements are sharing a meal and cultural creative expression. Since it corresponds with the principle of creativity, we encourage families to do arts and crafts activities. Then, the crafts can be given as Zawadi (gifts, which are exchanged on day seven, January 1).
Today’s arts & craft activity comes from our Communications Director, Lorena Estrella.
Creativity is all around us! When I am creating, I feel most free – free to explore, make mistakes, start over, make something beautiful.
Looking back on this year, I was able to commit to my creative practice by learning to sew, weaving small textiles, and making letterpress posters. Making time for my creativity meant making time for myself. What I enjoyed most was creating with others, in community. It was a joy to learn alongside beginners and experts. As we move towards the new year, this is the perfect time to set intentions around our own creativity and how we want to commit creativity to ourselves.
This Kuumba, I invite you and your family to reflect:
- How can I water my creativity in this new year?
- What inspires my creativity and joy to flow freely?
- What is a commitment I can make to centering creativity in my life? In my parenting?
- What is a new creativity activity you have been wanting to try out?
Activity: As a family, create your own Affirmation Cards! Affirm your creativity and give life to your aspirations in this new year. Use index cards to create at least 3 affirmations each starting with “I am…” or “I create…”. Share your affirmations and trade them with your loved ones as reminders of your shared power and love.
Here are some examples:
- I am creative in everything I do.
- I create freely without judgement.
- I am a vessel for change in the world.
- I allow creativity to flow through me.
- My creativity is not tied to my productivity.