Prepared by:

Nelia Kernychna
Group 512
Topic: Kwanzaa - a cultural holiday
Time: 45 minutes
Level: Upper-intermediate (B2)
Form: 11
Aim: Students will be able to speak about the celebration of Kwanzaa, its
principles and symbols and compare cultural traditions with those of their own
country
Objectives:
- develop reading and listening skills
- develop (monologic and dialogic) speaking skills
- broaden horizons by learning cultural holidays and comparing it to their
own cultural traditions
Language: vocabulary related to Kwanzaa and African American culture
Skills trained: reading, listening, speaking
Materials: - worksheets
- the internet
- authentic materials: youtube video
- online activity on learningapps.com

1. Warm-up
Students answer the questions, depending on whether or not they have any prior
knowledge of Kwanzaa. This can be done in pairs, groups or as a whole class.
They should then read the article and see if it reflects their prior knowledge or
guesses.
Pre-Reading stage
T: Have you ever heard of Kwanzaa?
If yes:
• What do you know about it?
• Do you know anyone who celebrates it?
• Have you ever been to a Kwanzaa celebration?
If no:
Looking at the picture, what do you think might happen at Kwanzaa?
While-Reading stage
Now read the article. Does this match up with what you know/guessed about
Kwanzaa?
Kwanzaa is quite a new celebration of community, family and culture that was
established in 1966 to encourage and help African Americans to connect with their
African roots and heritage. It is celebrated from 26 December to 1 January each year. It
was created in the USA by Maulana Karenga, as a way to bring African Americans
together and celebrate African culture.
The name of this seven-day festival comes from a Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza
which means first fruits of the harvest. Karenga added a second ‘a’ to the last word so
that the new festival name would contain seven letters: Kwanzaa.
The number seven is important to Kwanzaa. It has seven principles and seven symbols.
One of these symbols is the kinara (candleholder) which holds seven candles in the
colours of the pan-African flag. One candle in the kinara is lit on each of the seven
days of Kwanzaa, starting with the black centre candle and moving outwards. The
colours of the candles and the Kwanzaa flag, the bendera, are black for the people, red
for fire and struggle, and green for the earth.
The seven days and seven candles of Kwanzaa represent:
• Unity (umoja) – unity of family, community, nation and race
• Self-determination (kujichagulia) – being responsible for ourselves
• Collective work and responsibility (ujima) – working to help each other and the
community
• Cooperative economics (ujamaa) – working to build and maintain community shops
and businesses
• Purpose (nia) – remembering and restoring African American cultures, customs and
history
• Creativity (kuumba) – using imagination to create better communities
• Faith (imani) – believing in people, families, leaders and teachers
Kwanzaa is a contemplative, meditative but also joyful celebration that includes
African drumming and dancing, pledges, readings and discussions. Many people who
celebrate Kwanzaa wear clothes made of brightly coloured traditional fabrics and
decorate their houses with cultural objects. On the sixth day of Kwanzaa, 31 December,
a traditional African feast (karamu) is held.
At first, Karenga meant Kwanzaa to be an alternative to Christmas, but he changed his
position a few years later as the celebration gained popularity so that practising
Christians could celebrate their African heritage and not feel alienated. These days,
many African American families celebrate Kwanzaa as well as Christmas.
Although Kwanzaa originated and is popular in the USA, it is also celebrated in other
countries, particularly those where there are many people of African descent. It is
neither religious nor political. People of all backgrounds are welcomed to join in with
Kwanzaa celebrations – if not necessarily in people’s homes then at the more public
celebrations such as the one held annually at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York.

2. Key words
Students first look at the key words in the box then highlight them in the article.
Next, they should write the correct key word next to its definition, while noticing
how the words are used in context.
Note: The definitions are in the order that the words appear in the article.
Find and underline the words from the box below in the article.

alienated heritage collective contemplative unity

pledge position principles righteousness

Now match the words in the box above to the definitions below.
1. basic rules or beliefs about what is right and morally good, that influence the
way a person behaves and the way they treat other people________
2. spending a lot of time thinking very carefully about something_________
3. serious promises that you make publicly, stating that you will do
something_________
4. an opinion about an important issue_______
5. feeling that you do not belong in a particular society, place or group_______
6. involving all the members of a group_______
7. the quality of being morally good or correct, especially according to the
standards set by religion__________
8. the art, buildings, traditions and beliefs that a society considers important to its
history and culture_________
9. a situation in which people, groups or countries come together or agree about
something__________
3. True/False
[On Kahoot - voting activity, then discussion]
Students read the statements and decide whether they are true or false
according to the information in the article. Working in pairs, they should correct
the false statements.
Decide if the following statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the
information in the article. Correct any that are false.
1. Kwanzaa is the name of a religious festival that takes place in most of Africa.
2. Kwanzaa is celebrated solely by African Americans in the USA.
3. The celebration of Kwanzaa includes elements of dress, light, gifts and
decoration.
4. Kwanzaa was created in the 1960s by Dr Martin Luther King.
5. At first, Kwanzaa was not accepted by Christian African Americans as it was
said to be an alternative to Christmas.
6. Kwanzaa is the Swahili word for harvest

Post-Reading stage
4. The symbols of Kwanzaa
Students read and then match the names and descriptions of the seven main
symbols associated with Kwanzaa. They should then write the names in the
appropriate places to correctly identify the objects in the photo.

Kwanzaa has seven celebratory symbols which represent the values and
concepts of African culture. These symbols are often placed on a Kwanzaa table
in the home.
https://learningapps.org/display?v=pcuzczkrc21
Match the Swahili and English names of each symbol to the descriptions.
1. mkeka / mat
2. kikombe cha umoja / unity cup
3. mazao / crops
4. kinara / candleholder
5. mishumaa saba / seven candles
6. mahindi / corn
7. zawadi / gifts

a. It represents the seven days and principles of Kwanzaa.

b. This is filled with water, fruit juice or wine. It represents togetherness. All
family or community members drink from this.
c. Each child in the family is represented by one ear of this crop. If there are no
children in the family, then one ear is used to represent all the children in the
community.
d. These are given especially to children during Kwanzaa. These should be
handmade to avoid any unnecessary expenditure. They are given on 1 January.
e. Made of fabric, raffia or paper. The other symbols are placed on it. It
symbolizes the foundation on which other things are built.
f. Fruit and vegetables from the harvest. These symbolize work.
g. These are placed in the kinara. One is black, three are red and three are
green to represent the colours of the pan-African flag.

5. Now write the words from the box above next to their correct item in the image
below.

6. Video
Students watch the short informative video about Kwanzaa. After watching, they
should discuss the questions as a whole class.

T: Watch this short video. The Story of Kwanzaa: From Civil Rights to Corporate
America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aEbpFb1HZY

T: How many points from the article are mentioned and shown in the video?
What else does the video tell you about Kwanzaa?

7. Discussion
In groups, students discuss the questions. Feedback as a whole class, focusing
on any interesting answers given. Similar festivals include Thanksgiving
(celebrated in the USA), the New Yam Festival (celebrated in Ghana and
Nigeria) and the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Questions for discussion

Name 3 facts that we’ve learned today that you find the most interesting
How do you usually spend the time between 26 December and 1 January
(Christmas and New Year)? Are there any special days, celebrations or traditions
that you follow during this time?
What other celebrations do you know of that are similar to Kwanzaa?

Rationale: Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture that is

held from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called
Karamu, usually held on the 6th day. It was created based on African harvest
festival traditions from various parts of Africa, including West and Southeast Africa. I
firmly believe that such celebrations should be included and discussed for the
reason that they reflect people’s identity, history and, therefore, culture.
I also decided that it would be a good idea to give students a chance to compare
traditions regarding this holiday compared to those in our culture; this makes the
topic more thought-provoking and meaningful. I tried to approach each Ss’ needs by
employing activities beneficial for different learning types and styles and making use
of online teaching tools and apps. Moreover, I tried to integrate the development of
skills in this lesson plan.