One holiday tradition my mom always wanted to do with us but never did is celebrate Kwanzaa. She did educate me on what it is and what everything means, but we never got around to ever doing it. But now that I’m starting my own family, I wanted to do celebrate this year (even if Pre-K Kid won’t remember it lol) That way we’ll be ready to celebrate it the way we should when the Pre-K Kid is bigger.
So, for 2025 I decided to celebrate Kwanzaa through literature again. I’ll be listing the principles for each day along with a book that matches the principles. If you can think of other titles that match the principles, tell me, I’d love to discuss.
Day 1 is Umoja. It means Unity. For this day you light the Black candle in the middle and the person who lights it makes a statement about Unity. My statement about Unity this year comes from my Found Family. I know some view this as just a trope, but its so much more than that for me. The things that I get excited about or the things that excite me don’t necessarily make sense to some family members. But you know who did get excited about these things? My bookish family. The friends, I’ve made from this blog, from Bookstagram, and BookTok. I realized that these are the people who know me better than those family members and will continue to celebrate me in all my bookish wins!
The book I thought about first that reminded me of the unity we shared when coming together was:
I chose this one because Stella had just found out some really tough stuff concerning her job. She was alone… Except for one person who never left her side and her group of friends who were there as soon as they heard. It truly warmed my heart to see the way they came together to support her and be her people. This romance book had a great romance, but the friends she had were also amazing and supportive as well. I was so glad for Stella as she deserved all of this and more. And still, unity in community, no matter what your community looks like, or blood or not, is truly amazing.
What about you? What books do you think of when you think of Umoja or Unity? Do you think of this one as well? Let me know in the comments!