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Celebrating Kwanzaa
Celebrating Kwanzaa
Learn about this holiday that celebrates Black heritage in the United States as well as African culture.
BY SYLVIA MPHOFE
Celebrated every year from December 26 through January 1, Kwanzaa is a week of festivities honoring African American culture and heritage. Friends and family gather each day to give thanks, exchange gifts, and share feasts.
The holiday was created in 1966, during a time period when many Black people faced unfair treatment because of their skin color. The holiday honors African American people, their struggles in the United States, their heritage, and their culture.
Here’s how Kwanzaa got its start and the different ways it's celebrated.
History of Kwanzaa
Throughout the 1950s and '60s, the civil rights movement sought to end the practice of treating Black people unfairly because of their race. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that school segregation—or teaching Black and white children separately—was illegal. In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. And the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensured more equal rights for African Americans.
But Black people still faced discrimination. In 1965, a white police officer pulled over two African American men in a mostly Black neighborhood called Watts, in Los Angeles, California. Angry at how people in the community were being treated by police, a crowd soon gathered to protest. But the crowd grew bigger—and angrier. This led to six days of protests and rioting all over the city. Thirty-four people died and over a thousand were injured in what’s now called the Watts Rebellion.
The next year, educator and activist Maulanga Karenga wanted to rebuild the neighborhoods affected by the riots and encourage pride within the Black community. As part of his plan, he created Kwanzaa in 1966 to empower African Americans to rediscover and honor their African roots.
Kwanzaa means "first fruits" in Swahili, a language spoken in Africa, and refers to the joy and unity many Africans have when celebrating the harvest season. The holiday encourages people to honor seven principles: unity, self-determination (helping yourself succeed), collective work and responsibility (teamwork), cooperative economics (sharing), purpose, creativity, and faith.
Celebrating Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is not an African holiday, but it’s inspired by many African cultural practices.
Symbols of African heritage decorate homes during Kwanzaa. For instance, families place a traditional woven mat, called a mkeka (muh-KAY-kuh), on tables to represent the traditions—like sharing and faith—that the holiday is based on.
Meaningful items are arranged on the mat, such as a basket filled with fruits and vegetables to represent the harvest, and one ear of corn for each child in the family. A unity cup, called kikombe cha umoja (kee-KOHM-bee cha oo-MOH-jah), is also placed on the mkeka.
Lighting candles
A big part of celebrating Kwanzaa is lighting a candle each night. First, an adult pours a little water or juice from the unity cup onto the ground to remember the family’s ancestors. Then the cup is passed to each family member, who sips while everyone chants harambee (Swahili for "let’s pull together" and pronounced hah-RAHM-beh) seven times.
The kinara (kee-NAH-ruh) holds seven candles: one black, three red, and three green. The black candle in the middle represents unity among people of African descent; the red candles on the left represent the past, and the green candles on the right stand for the future.
Each day, family and friends gather to light a special candle that represents one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. On the first night, celebrants light the black unity candle. Each night a different candle is lit to reflect on the other six principles.
Big parties
Celebrants enjoy special foods all throughout Kwanzaa. Families often use recipes that have been passed down over many, many years; often those foods have roots in African culture. Meals might include dishes like peanut soup or shrimp gumbo, topped off with tasty desserts like fried bananas, sweet potato pie, and coconut sweets.
Even though Kwanzaa lasts for seven days, the big celebration is on December 31. That’s when family and friends gather in bright African-style clothing and have a large feast, called karamu (kuh-RAH-moo). They play music, dance, and sing.
The last day of Kwanzaa is much quieter. On January 1, people focus on how they want to succeed in the coming year and what kind of person they want to be in the future.
Hannukkah; The Festival of Lights
Hanukkah
Lasting eight days, the joyous Jewish holiday celebrates a miracle from more than 2,000 years ago.
BY LAURA GOERTZEL
The Jewish festival of lights, called Hanukkah, is celebrated around the world today. But the inspiration for the holiday dates back thousands of years in what is today the country of Israel.
In 175 B.C., King Antiochus, whose ancient kingdom included Judea (located in present-day Israel), made it against the law for people who lived there to practice their religion, called Judaism. Instead, he wanted Jews to worship Greek gods. When they refused, he ordered his troops to destroy the Temple of Jerusalem, an important place of worship for Jews. He replaced the Jewish symbols with an altar dedicated to Zeus, the king of the Greek gods.
The Jews, led by Judah the Maccabee, rebelled against King Antiochus. Many historians believe that they battled for about three years to become an independent region so they could practice their religion. Finally, around 164 B.C., the Maccabees, as they were called, defeated King Antiochus and his troops.
When the Maccabees returned to their ransacked temple, they found only one jar of oil—just enough to light the temple’s candles for one day. But according to the Talmud (one of Judaism’s holy texts), the oil miraculously burned for eight days—enough time for the victorious Maccabees to find more oil for their sacred candles.
Restoring the temple and driving out King Antiochus didn’t end the conflict. His followers continued to battle with the Jews for more than 22 years. Finally, in the year 142, the warring groups signed a peace treaty, and the Jews formed their own independent region.
How it’s celebrated today
Hanukkah starts on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar. (It’s also called the Jewish calendar and is used to track religious dates.) Because this calendar follows the lunar (or moon) cycle, the holiday begins on a different date each year on the calendar you use the most, which is based on the sun cycles. Usually, Hanukkah starts in late November to mid-December.
In 2023, Hanukkah starts the evening of December 7 and ends on December 15.
To celebrate the ancient miracle of the oil burning a candle for eight nights, Jews celebrating Hanukkah light a candleholder called a menorah for eight nights. The menorah holds nine candles—one for each night plus a candle called the shamash used to light the other candles.
On the first night, one candle is added to the menorah and lit. On the second night, another candle is added and lit. The adding and lighting of candles continues for eight nights. During these moments, people recite special blessings and prayers, sing songs, and exchange gifts to celebrate the miracle in the temple more than 2,000 years ago.
Hanukkah foods and fun
Traditional Hanukkah foods include deep-fried jelly donuts called sufganiyot and potato pancakes called latkes. Both dishes are fried and represent the long-lasting lamp oil.
After they’ve feasted on rich foods, families gather to take turns spinning a top called a dreidel. Players can win chocolate gelt, or coins, if the top lands the right way.
Christmas ..... Learn all about the history and twinkly traditions of the festive season…
As the year draws to an end, millions of people around the world look forward to sparkling decorations, colourful lights, delicious food, jolly music and exciting gifts. Yup… because Christmas is coming! But how much do you know about this super-fun holiday? It’s time to find out in our ten facts about Christmas…
Facts about Christmas
1) Christmas is a Christian festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe was the son of God. For most people, it takes place every year on 25 December – the day that the Roman Catholic Church chose to mark Jesus’ birthday. But, in fact, no one actually knows the exact date Jesus was born!
2) Did you know that not all Christians celebrate Christmas on the same day? In countries with large populations of Orthodox Christians*, such as Russia, the Ukraine and Romania, Christmas Day falls on 7 January. Some Greek Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas on 7 January, too.
3) The name ‘Christmas’ comes from the old English phrase Cristes maesse, which means ‘Christ’s mass’. But what about ‘Xmas’? Lots of people think this is just a modern-day abbreviation – but it actually dates back to the 16th century! The ‘X’ is said to represent the Greek letter ‘Chi’– the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, Χριστός (pronounced ‘Christos’).
4) Come Christmas, people around the world enjoy all kinds of jolly-good fun! Many of the festive traditions we have in the UK today came about in the Victorian era – such as Christmas cards, gift-giving and crackers, as well as traditional foods like mince pies and roast turkey! Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert were huge fans of Christmas, in fact!
5) Christmas trees also became popular in Victorian Britain. But these were first seen in 16th Century Germany where, at Christmas time, people decorated fir trees with fruit and nuts – and later sweets, paper shapes and candles. Amazingly, historians think the origins of this festive tradition may date back to the Romans and Ancient Egyptians, who used evergreen plants and garlands as symbols of everlasting life. Wow!
6) Check this out – every year, Norway sends a beautiful home-grown Christmas tree to London, where it is decorated with lights in Trafalgar Square. Standing a towering 20m tall, the terrific tree is a gift to say thank you for the help the UK gave Norway during World War II. What a tree-mendous gift!
7) We can’t talk about Christmas without a mention to the big bearded, rosy-cheeked jolly man… Father Christmas! But have you wondered how he got the name Santa Claus? It’s from Sinterklaas, which means Saint Nicholas in Dutch, the language of the Netherlands. St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop who lived in the 4th century – known for being kind and generous, he later became the patron saint of children.
8) But Santa isn’t the only Christmas character – there are many more around the world! In Italy, for example, a kind witch called La Befana is said to fly around on a broomstick delivering toys to children! And in Iceland, children leave shoes under the window for 13 mischievous trolls called the Yule Lads. If the child has been good, they’ll find sweets in their shoe – but if they’ve been bad, the Yule lads will leave them a rotten potato!
9) We all love to sing along to Jingle Bells, but have you ever noticed that the song doesn’t have the word Christmas in it? Or Jesus or Santa Claus? That’s because it wasn’t originally a Christmas song! In fact, the jolly anthem was written in 1850, entitled One Horse Open Sleigh, for the American holiday, Thanksgiving!
10) Now, imagine if there was no Christmas. Does it feel quite strange? Sad, perhaps? Well, believe it or not, in 1644 Christmas celebrations were made illegal in England, and soon after, in the English Colonies in America, too! At that time, members of the government felt that the religious meaning of Christmas had been forgotten, and so banned the holiday festivities. Some people still celebrated in secret, however, until Christmas was once again legal… almost 20 years later!
ACSA Summit
Mrs. Dunn was honored and excited to attend the ACSA (Association of School Administrators) Summit in Sacramento. It was a great time of learning and working with fabulous leaders, including our own Dr. Clark.
Garden Recipe Challenge
Showcase your cooking skills and nutrition knowledge! Growing Healthy Kids is holding a garden recipe challenge! Which recipe is your favorite? Some examples are power snack, carrot pennies, pesto, salsa, trail mix, collard wraps, apple/pear bread, emotional apple faces, 6 plant part salad. Check with Mrs. Burns if you have any questions. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CO_pD0KLEKtoksLYDsSyNNIuA7ncXIn3/view?usp=sharing
Mrs. Jenna Boyd, Resource Teacher
Mrs. Jenna Boyd is awesome!
This is Ms. Boyd's second year at Bancroft as our Resource Teacher. She is patience, kind and has a great sense of humor. Jenna works hard with the students she sees to help them build confidence in their abilities and skills. She is a mother of 2 amazing children and married to wonderful man, who is an educator as well.
FAVORITES:
Favorite fast food: In N' Out
Hot drink: Coffee or Tea
Cold drink: Diet Coke
Candy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
Holiday/Season: Christmas and Spring
Color: Purple
Sports Team: SF Giants
Movie/TV Show: The Office
Snack: Cereal
Lauren Soh-Tse, Instructional Assistant
Mrs. Lauren Soh-Tse is a rock star!
Ms. Lauren is not new to our campus, but is new to the world of Instructional Assistants. She works with Ms. Boyd is supporting our students. She feels her greatest strength is being patient with our little Bobcats. Lauren works hard to keep her students engaged in what they are doing. If you get a chance, see if Lauren will play the ukulele for you. She's one of our hidden musicians. Ms. Lauren is excited to be a Bobcat this year, along with her TK daughter. Ms. Lauren is truly a Bobcat family!
Favorites:
Favorite fast food: Any taqueria
Hot drink: Ginger Lemon Tea
Cold drink: Coconut Water
Candy: Snickers
Holiday/Season: Thanksgiving (because she loves cooking) and Fall
Color: Blue
Sports Team: SF Giants
Favorite sport: Pickle Ball
Snack: Chips and guacamole/salsa
Movie/TV Show: Maverick
Attendance
- Students are required to attend classes, and teachers are taking attendance daily.
- You will need to excuse your child's absence like you do during in-person instruction.
- Students who cannot attend class should contact their teacher about how to attain the instruction and/or make-up the work they missed.
School Site Council
The School Site Council is a team comprised of the school principal, teachers, other staff and parents and/or community members and, in high schools students participate on the team. School Site Council members are elected, with teachers electing teachers, parents electing parents, and students electing students.
Parent / Teacher Communication
Car line TAGS
Car line parents, please remember to place your YELLOW CAR TAG in the passenger side window of your vehicle. This will help make pick up go much quicker, which is really what we all want.
Mrs. Dunn
I have an open door policy (really, it's always open). Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns, or commendations.
How to be a volunteer at Bancroft
https://mdusd-ca.schoolloop.com/pf4/cms2/view_page?d=x&group_id=1394262952238&vdid=i4ea1lrm2y3nd
