During Kwanzaa, the candle in the center of the kinara is black. It represents the African people and is placed between three red candles and three green candles.
A kinara is a seven-branched candleholder used during Kwanzaa, the week-long celebration created in the United States in 1966 by Maulana Karenga. Its seven candles, called mishumaa saba, represent Kwanzaa’s Seven Principles, or Nguzo Saba.
The black center candle is lit first. Over the following days, the remaining candles are lit in an alternating pattern, generally moving outward from the center. The arrangement reflects Kwanzaa’s symbolic color scheme: black for the people, red for struggle and green for the future and hope.
The kinara is sometimes confused with a Hanukkah menorah or hanukkiah, but they belong to different traditions. A kinara has seven candles and is associated with Kwanzaa; a Hanukkah hanukkiah has nine candle holders and is used for the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.