Truman dies in Independence, Missouri. Hoping to recover from bankruptcy with a bold scheme of colonization, Moses Austin meets with Spanish authorities in San Antonio to ask permission for Anglo-American families to settle in Texas. A native of Durham, Connecticut, Austin had been a successful merchant in Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. On December 26, , The Exorcist, a horror film starring the actress Linda Blair as a girl possessed by an evil spirit, makes its debut in theaters; it will go on to earn a reputation as one of the scariest movies in history.
A powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, on December 26, sets off a tsunami that wreaks death and devastation across the Indian Ocean coastline.
The quake was the second strongest ever recorded and the estimated , dead made this disaster one of the On December 26, or sources are not conclusive , Count Gyorgy Thurzo makes an investigative visit to Csejthe Castle in Hungary on orders from King Matthias and discovers Countess Elizabeth Bathory directing a torture session of young girls. Bathory was already infamous On December 26, , the visionary carmaker Preston Tucker dies of lung cancer. He was just 53 years old.
Kikombe Cha Umoja: The Unity Cup The kikombe cha umoja is a special cup that is used to perform the libation tambiko ritual during the Karamu feast on the sixth day of Kwanzaa.
In many African societies libation are poured for the living dead whose souls stay with the earth they tilled. The Ibo of Nigeria believe that to drink the last portion of a libation is to invite the wrath of the spirits and the ancestors; consequently, the last part of the libation belongs to the ancestors. During the Karamu feast, the kikombe cha umoja is passed to family member and guests, who drink from it to promote unity. Then, the eldest person present pours the libation tambiko , usually water, juice, or wine, in the direction of the four winds — north, south, east, and west — to honor the ancestors.
The eldest asks the gods and ancestors to share in the festivities and, in return, to bless all the people who are not at the gathering. Several families may have a cup that is specifically for the ancestors, and everyone else has his or her own. The last few ounces of the libation are poured into the cup of the host or hostess, who sips it and then hands it to the oldest person in the group, who asks for the blessing. Zawadi: Gifts When we celebrate Imani on the seventh day of Kwanzaa, we give meaningful zawadi gifts to encourage growth, self-determination, achievement, and success.
We exchange the gifts with members of our immediate family, especially the children, to promote or reward accomplishments and commitments kept, as well as with our guests. Handmade gifts are encouraged to promote self-determination, purpose, and creativity and to avoid the chaos of shopping and conspicuous consumption during the December holiday season.
A family may spend the year making kinaras or may create cards, dolls, or mkekas to give to their guests. Accepting a gift implies a moral obligation to fulfill the promise of the gift; it obliges the recipient to follow the training of the host. The gift cements social relationships, allowing the receiver to share the duties and the rights of a family member.
Accepting a gift makes the receiver part of the family and promotes Umoja. Copyright by Dorothy Winbush Riley. All rights reserved. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China.
In , Chinese New Year will begin on February 1. Tied to the Chinese lunar calendar, the holiday was traditionally a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a time to bring family Earth Day was founded in as a day of education about environmental issues, and Earth Day will occur on Friday, April The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since , but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution.
On July 2nd, , the Continental Congress Labor Day will occur on Monday, September 6. Rather than replace Christmas, though, most people began to see Kwanzaa as a way to supercharge their holiday season. Kwanzaa became widely recognized in the s and s. In , Bill Clinton issued the first U. Postal Service issued its first Kwanzaa stamp. By the s, however, media outlets such as the Associated Press and the Root were reporting that fewer Black families were celebrating Kwanzaa.
See 13 destinations for African-American history and culture. Estimates of how many Americans celebrate Kwanzaa have varied in recent years, from as few as a half a million to as many as 12 million. USA Today reported in that only 2. In —after another period of racial unrest over the killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and too many others—the Root examined whether the holiday might see a resurgence.
All rights reserved. Kwanzaa celebrates African-American heritage. Activist Maulana Karenga and his wife Tiamoya celebrating Kwanzaa in Karenga created the holiday in as an opportunity for Black Americans to reaffirm their African roots and strengthen their bonds in a time of racial unrest. Origins of Kwanzaa Kwanzaa was founded in , a year after a historic rebellion rocked the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Share Tweet Email.
Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city Caracals have learned to hunt around the urban edges of Cape Town, though the predator faces many threats, such as getting hit by cars. He created this holiday in response to the Watts Riots in Los Angeles in as a way to bring African-Americans together as a community.
Karenga researched African harvest celebrations and combined aspects of several different celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the Zulu, to form the foundation of Kwanzaa. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase matunda ya kwanza which means first fruits, or harvest, in Swahili.
Celebrations often include singing and dancing, storytelling, poetry reading, African drumming, and feasting. Karenga created seven guiding principles to be discussed during the week of Kwanzaa. The seven principles represent seven values of African culture that help build and reinforce community among African-Americans. Each day a different principle is discussed, and each day a candle is lit on the kinara candleholder. On the first night, the center black candle is lit, and the principle of umoja , or unity is discussed.
On the final day of Kwanzaa, families enjoy an African feast, called karamu. Umoja: Unity - To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. Kujichagulia: Self-Determination - To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves. Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility - To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and solve them together.
Ujamaa: Cooperative Economics - To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.
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