WORCESTER, Mass. - Sha-Asia Medina is the director of The Village in Worcester. She's been celebrating Kwanzaa for more than 10 years. 

The week long, pan-African holiday encourages people to re-commit to their culture and values. 

"The United States, Haiti, Trinidad, Jamaica and Australia," Medina said. "Wherever it is that you are."

Each day, those who celebrate honor a different principle. There are seven, and with them, they remember a person who represents the principle. 

"We have a kinara, which means candle holder in Swahili," Medina said. "There's seven candles - three red, one black and three green. Usually you would just think about people in black history, people in our community, people in your family, who embodied that in 2022."

The holiday has been around for 56 years. Medina said it was first celebrated in Worcester about 20 years ago and since the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, she's noticed more openness to the holiday. 

"We actually held a crash course in Kwanzaa earlier in the month," Medina said. "We did have a good amount of folks who never celebrated but want to celebrate, want to make it a practice."

While the holiday is seven days long, Medina said it's meant to be practiced every day, by anyone who wishes to join. 

"You can celebrate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Solstice, whatever holiday that you chose to bare witness to," Medina said. "It has a universal kind of feel."

Medina said their Kwanzaa celebrations are back in-person this year for the first time since 2019. Their biggest event is Friday at the YWCA from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.