During the week of Kwanzaa, families and communities come together to share a feast, to honor the ancestors, affirm the bonds between them, and to celebrate African and African American culture. Each day they light a candle to highlight the principle of that day and to breathe meaning into the principles with various activities, such as reciting the sayings or writings of great black thinkers and writers, reciting original poetry, African drumming, and sharing a meal of African diaspora-inspired foods. The table is decorated with the essential symbols of Kwanzaa, such as the Kinara (Candle Holder), Mkeka (Mat), Muhindi (corn to represent the children), Mazao (fruit to represent the harvest), and Zawadi (gifts). One might also see the colors of the Pan-African flag, red (the struggle), black (the people), and green (the future), represented throughout the space and in the clothing worn by participants. These colors were first proclaimed to be the colors for all people of the African diaspora by Marcus Garvey.

Yule will be celebrated by Wiccans and many other Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere on Dec. 21, the day of the winter solstice. For Pagans, the shortest day of the year marks the end of the descent into darkness and the beginning of the return of the light as the days begin to get longer after the solstice. Like many other religious holidays, Yule is a celebration of light.

Wicca is a minority religion that is part of the larger contemporary Pagan movement. Pagans normally define their religion as earth-based. By this they mean they see divinity in nature and connect their rituals to the changing seasons. All forms of contemporary Paganism look to pre-Christian European religions to inform their religious practice.

The winter solstice is the longest night and shortest day of the year. It’s an opportunity for me to notice ways I’ve internalized messages that dark is bad and light is good. It’s an opportunity to celebrate darkness, to sit in darkness, to feel the comforts and discomforts of being enveloped in darkness.

Click the link below to find an event near you. Alamance County, folks - hold the date for a local event hosted by the Alamance Racial Equity Alliance (A.R.E.A.)!

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