Kwanzaa

French Kwanzaa vocabulary
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Fête afro-américaine

Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration of African identity and culture throughout the world, particularly in the United States. It takes place annually from 26 December to 1 January (du 26 décembre au 1e janvier).

The seven principles of Kwanzaa ~ Les sept principes de Kwanzaa

The celebration of Kwanzaa is centered around seven principles, or values. Each day of the week-long festival is dedicated to one of these values.

 Note: because the Swahili language is such an integral part of Kwanzaa, I included the Swahili terms (in parentheses).

1.  Unity   l’unité   (Umoja)
2. Self-determination   l’autodétermination   (Kujichagulia)
3. Collective work and responsibility   le travail et la responsabilité coopératifs   (Ujima)
4. Cooperative economics   la coopération économique   (Ujamaa)
5. Purpose   le but   (Nia)
6. Creativity   la créativité   (Kuumba)
7. Faith   la foi   (Imani)

Kwanzaa colors ~ Les couleurs de Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa has three symbolic colors:

black noir (the people)
red rouge (their struggle)
green vert (hope for the future)

More: Colors in French

Kwanzaa vocabulary ~ Le vocabulaire de Kwanzaa

Some French terms and ideas related to the celebration of Kwanzaa:

Africa   l’Afrique
African   africain
African-American    
    (adjective)
(noun)
  afro-Américain, noir américain
un Afro-Américain, un Noir américain
art   l’art
book   un livre
candle   une bougie
candle holder   un bougeoir
community   la communauté
corn   le maïs
culture   la culture
family   la famille
flag   le drapeau
fruit   les fruits
gift   le cadeau
harvest   la récolte
heritage   le patrimoine
hope   l’espoir
humanity   l’humanité
mat   la natte
meditation   la méditation
rebirth   la renaissance
respect   le respect
seven candles   sept bougies
struggle   la lutte
thanks   remerciements
Unity cup   la coupe de l’Unité
values   les valeurs

Happy Kwanzaa! Joyeux Kwanzaa !

 Related lessons

French holiday expressions

More from LKL

French vocabulary for other holidays

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French for Kwanzaa

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