Unusual Quotes for Kwanzaa Cards

DIY holiday cards are a fun and personal way to send greetings. There is no shortage of ideas for graphic designs or photos for designing the front of cards, but sometimes coming up with an appropriate message inside can be a little trickier. For those who feel they lack creative writing skills, an appropriate quote followed by a brief personal note can do the trick. These quotes for Kwanzaa cards were collected for a classroom project; you can also use them as essay topics for older children. What is the quotation saying? Which principle of Kwanzaa do you think it relates to? Why?

The seven principles of Kwanzaa (Nguzo Saba) as set forth on the official Kwanzaa website are as follows: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). I have chosen the quotes from various people and sources which I think illustrate some of these principles and would serve as nice quotes for Kwanzaa cards.

"In union there is strength."
-Aesop

"Sticks in a bundle are unbreakable."
-Kenyan proverb

"No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you."
-Althea Gibson

"The time is always right to do what is right."
-Martin Luther king, Jr.

"Together we must learn to live as brothers or together we will be forced to perish as fools."
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves."
-Langston Hughes

"A mystic bond of brotherhood makes all men one."
-Thomas Carlyle

"The crest and crowning of all good, life's final star, is brotherhood."
-Edwin Markham

"Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
-Psalm 133, Holy Bible KJV

""Attach yourself to what is spiritually superior, regardless of what other people think or do. Hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you."
-Epictetus

"Nothing truly stops you. Nothing truly holds you back. For your own will is always within your control."
-Epictetus

"One cannot pursue one's own highest good without at the same time necessarily promoting the good of others...view yourself as a citizen of a worldwide community and act accordingly."
-Epictetus

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main...
-John Donne

"There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed."
-Woodrow T. Wilson

"Good ideas are common - what's uncommon are people who'll work hard enough to bring them about."
-Ashleigh Brilliant

"He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye."
-Buddha (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta)

"Return to old watering holes for more than water; friends and dreams are there to meet you."
-African proverb

"Rain does not fall on one roof alone"
- African proverb

"When two brothers fight, strangers always reap the harvest."
-Ibo saying

I've collected these quotes from varied sources, as many of the same quotes turn up on sites devoted to Kwanzaa. I hope you've found some that you'd like to use for your Kwanzaa cards this year!