Make Your Own Kinara Tapestry

Kwanzaa is an African-American celebration held from December 26 through January 1. It commemorates the past, present, and future of the peoples. There are seven symbols of Kwanzaa. The kinara, or candleholder, is placed on the mkeka to symbolize the ancestry of Africans and Americans. Seven candles, or mishumaa saba, are placed in the kinara. Three green candles are placed on the right, three red candles on the left, and a black candle in the middle. These colors represent the three parts of African-American culture.

To make your own kinara tapestry, you will need:

scissors

rectangles of felt in red, black, green, gold, white or gray (for background)

tracing paper

pencil

glue

velcro fasteners

To begin, make a candle pattern, and cut shapes from the assorted colors of felt. Use tracing paper to trace the shapes and then cut out tracing paper pattern. Put the pattern on top of the felt and trace around. Cut the shapes. Make sure to cut three red candles, three green candles, and one black candle.

Use the gold felt to make a candleholder. The middle part of your candleholder should be higher than the rest of the kinara so that the middle candle will be the highest of the candle shapes.

Use white or gray felt for your background. This will be the foundation for your kinara. Lay the kinara and candle pieces on the base. The black candle should be in the middle. Red candles should be on the left and green candles on the right. Glue down each piece, using glue sparingly. For the flames, use the extra gold felt to make teardrop shapes.

Now, you are ready to pin your kinara tapestry to the wall. As each day passes of Kwanzaa, add a flame to a candle. If the felt doesn't stick well with the glue, you can use velcro to attach.