Kwanzaa 2026 seven-day video series: one principle per day

Kwanzaa runs from 26 December to 1 January, one principle a day, which is a natural seven-part video series. A single 28-second summary video of the seven principles costs about $0.66 on Sume; seven separate daily posts cost about $2.46.

Details are from Wikipedia's Kwanzaa article, read 2026-10-03: Maulana Karenga established it in 1966; the name comes from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, 'first fruits'; the kinara holds seven candles (Mishumaa Saba), one black, three red and three green; the feast (Karamu) usually falls on 31 December, the sixth day. This is a community holiday, so take care: involve people who observe it, and do not use it as a sales hook.

The seven days

Two builds

For a seven-slot summary: make seven stills with bytedance-seed/seedream-4.5 ($0.231), render 7 slots of 4 seconds in one Timeline job ($0.10), burn the Swahili name and English meaning with one caption job ($0.20) and add a music bed ($0.125). Total: $0.656. For seven daily posts: the same stills and bed, but seven 4-second renders ($0.70) and seven caption jobs ($1.40) for $2.456.

import os, sys, uuid, requests

def main():
    key = os.environ.get("SUME_API_KEY", "")
    if not key:
        sys.exit("Set SUME_API_KEY first")
    body = {
        "video_url": "https://media.sume.com/artifacts/YOUR_ARTIFACT/clean.mp4",
        "style": "slam",
        "cues": [
            {"text": "Umoja: Unity", "start": 0.5, "end": 3.5},
            {"text": "Kujichagulia: Self-determination", "start": 4.5, "end": 7.5},
        ],
    }
    resp = requests.post(
        "https://api.sume.com/v1/video-captions",
        json=body,
        timeout=60,
        headers={"Authorization": "Bearer " + key,
                 "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4())},
    )
    print(resp.status_code, resp.json())

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Review before you publish

Image models can get cultural details wrong: the order of the candles, the objects on the mat, patterns that look like but are not authentic kente. Review each still against a trusted reference, ideally with a person who celebrates. Keep the black candle in the middle with three red on one side and three green on the other, as Wikipedia describes the colors, but check the exact arrangement with a source from the community.

What Sume does and does not do

• Does: produce the stills, music and captioned video.
• Does not: authenticate cultural accuracy. That review is yours.
• Does not: add Swahili pronunciation audio. This post's cost covers captions only.