E2801

Kwanzaa

Celebration of African-American Culture

Collins Cover Announcement 

Holiday Celebration Series

KWANZAA

This Ceins First Day Cover is a beautiful one as it honors the increashigly popular African American festival of family, community and culture known as Kwanzaa. The Postal Service established this holiday series in 1996 with the Hanukkah stamp. and I also felt that my Collins cachet for that issue was a beautiful one.

The table centerpiece in this cachet is the kinara—a candle holder with seven candles that represents the ancestral stalk From which African Americans come. Each candle is symbolic of one of the days of the week-long festival. Celebrated are the seven principles of unity. self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. The name Kwanzaa comes from a Swahili phrase meaning "first fruits" and honors the tradition of celebrating the harvest.

Also shown in my cachet are other important Kwanzaa items. The mkeka is the straw mat on which the kinara is placed. The mazao is the bowl of fruit which symbolizes the harvest. The mishumaa are the candles--three green. three red, and one black. The muhindi are the ears of corn representing the children of the house and the community. Zawadi are culturally based gifts for the children. And, the kikombe cha umoja is the unity cup that is passed to each member of the family to sip from in a gesture of unity and commitment to Kwanzaa.

My family scene is framed and surrounded with a bold and colorful border. This cachet has exceeded my own expectations, and I think it will become an important Collins to own (as will, I believe, my Hanukkah cover.) It truly captures the spirit and essence of family, community, and culture. The celebration of Kwanzaa. Item #E2801. $11.75.