December 27, 2025

Title: PRINCIPLES OF KWANZAA

Constructor: Erik Agard

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• UMOJA (18A: *First day of Kwanzaa (Unity))
• KUJICHAGULIA (19A: *Second day (Self determination))
• UJIMA (38A: *Third day (Collective work and responsibility))
• UJAMAA (39A: *Fourth day (Cooperative economics))
• NIA (45A: *Fifth day (Purpose))
• KUUMBA (55A: *Sixth day (Creativity))
• IMANI (64A: *Seventh day (Faith))

PRINCIPLES OF KWANZAA: Each of the theme answer is a PRINCIPLE OF KWANZAA.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

The annual celebration of African American culture known as KWANZAA is observed each year from December 26 to January 1. KWANZAA was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a scholar and activist. Each of the seven days of KWANZAA is dedicated to a principle of African heritage. Each principle is a Swahili word. A candle is lit each day as the PRINCIPLE of the day is highlighted and remembered. Although I know a little bit about KWANZAA and have read about the PRINCIPLES OF KWANZAA before, I appreciated this opportunity to learn more about them.

• UMOJA (18A: *First day of Kwanzaa (Unity)) The principle of UMOJA highlights the significance of unity and the sense of togetherness and cooperation. We are all interconnected despite our differences in culture, ethnicity, or belief.
• KUJICHAGULIA (19A: *Second day (Self determination)) The principle of KUJICHAGULIA is a reminder of the importance of self determination. People have an inherent right to define themselves and make their own choices. 
• UJIMA (38A: *Third day (Collective work and responsibility)) The principle of UJIMA is a reminder to work together as a community.
• UJAMAA (39A: *Fourth day (Cooperative economics)) The principle of UJAMAA inspires people to recognize that economic well-being is a shared responsibility. 
• NIA (45A: *Fifth day (Purpose)) The principle of NIA is a reminder to consider the collective goals and purpose of the community.
• KUUMBA (55A: *Sixth day (Creativity)) The principle of KUUMBA serves as a reminder for all people to embrace their creative potential. Make it a goal to foster a culture of innovation.
• IMANI (64A: *Seventh day (Faith)) The principle of IMANI is a reminder that even in difficult times it is essential to maintain faith in the possibility of a brighter future. This is true on both an individual and community level.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• ASIA (13A: Kyrgyzstan's continent) Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked country in Central ASIA. The capital of Kyrgyzstan is Bishkek. Our crossword friend ASIA is continuing its strong December with its fifth appearance of the month! This is the 26th time we've seen ASIA in the puzzle this year. Will ASIA manage to sneak in another appearance (or two!) before the end of the year?
• IRON (14A: ___heart (superhero with a metal suit)) IRONheart is a Marvel Comics superhero who first appeared in Invincible IRON Man comics in 2016. IRONheart is the alter ego of Riri Williams, a 15-year-old super-genius who created a suit similar to the IRON Man armor while she was an engineering student at MIT. In the 2022 movie Black Panther and the 2025 Disney+ TV series IRONheart, the character is portrayed by Dominique Thorne.
• CAR (24A: Fast vehicle in a Tracy Chapman hit) "Fast CAR" is the lead single from Tracy Chapman's 1988 self-titled debut album. I have previously written about "Fast CAR."
• MANE (31A: Lion's hair) Although my cat, Willow, is not a lion, she is quite proud of her "MANE." Here's a silly picture of her with ribbon draped over her ear. I doubt her big cat cousins ever find themselves in this position.

• DAY (32A: Singer Andra who portrayed Billie Holiday) Andra DAY portrays Billie Holiday in the 2021 biographical movie The United States vs. Billie Holiday. The movie explores Billie Holiday's song "Strange Fruit," which protests the lynching of Black Americans. Andra DAY was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for the role. 
• FISH (5D: Minnow or marlin) I like the alliteration of the "minnow" and "marlin" FISH examples. These examples also made me chuckle, because these FISH are quite different in size. Minnows are small FISH, about two to five inches long depending on the species. Marlins, on the other hand, can grow to over 16 feet in length.
• ERA (12D: The "E" in BCE) BCE stands for Before the Common ERA. BCE and its counterpart, CE (Common ERA) are alternatives to the BC (before Christ) and AD (anno Domini) notations.
• PIP (42D: Gladys Knight backer, or a word after "toodle") Gladys Knight and the PIPs were an R&B, soul, and funk group known for hits such as "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (1967) and "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)" (1972). I was thankful for this half of the clue, because I'm not very familiar with the saying "toodle PIP," which is a way to say goodbye; it's similar to "Cheerio!"
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• RADAR (15A: Something to "fly under")
• REF (48D: Striped shirt wearer in sports)
• BEEP (58D: Microwave sound that might be avoided by hitting "Stop" at the last second)

Joyous KWANZAA! This puzzle finds us on the second day of KWANZAA, so the PRINCIPLE for today is KUJICHAGULIA. You know I enjoy learning new things, so I really appreciate this opportunity to learn more about this holiday. It is quite impressive that there are seven theme answers packed into this puzzle, and they are all crossed fairly to allow solvers who might not be familiar with these Swahili words to be successful. Thank you, Erik, for this excellent puzzle.