Umuganura day is a big celebration in Rwanda and is celebrated on the first Friday in August every year, in 2023 on the 4th of August. It is a public holiday in Rwanda and also known as National Harvest Day as it celebrates the beginning of the harvest season.

Ambassador Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe hosted the Umuganura celebration in the Netherlands at his residence in the town of Wassenaar on the 26th of August.

H.E. Gamaliel Nkurunziza, Ambassador of Burundi, with his wife Nadine and his colleague Stany Muhizi joined the celebration of Umuganura with the Rwandan community and friends of Rwanda in the Netherlands.

It was a ceremony led by Innocent Iradukunda, who is a member of the Rwandan Community in the Netherlands. Claude Ndabarasa, who leads the Rwandan Diaspora in the Netherlands, thanked Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe and his family to celebrate Umuganura in their home and he appreciates the cooperation between the Embassy and the Rwandan community in this country of the Netherlands.

Ambassador Nduhungirehe was also very grateful to the Rwandans who brought children in large numbers and he was happy to see that the youth were among the majority of the participants.

The Ambassador explained what it means to celebrate today, pointing out that it is a tradition of Rwandans since ancient times. "It is a day in the history of Rwaranda, the word Umuganura is derived from the verb 'Kuganu' which refers to the act of celebrating and sharing your harvest. Umuganura was also celebrated at the level of Amasaka and Rwandans thanked God for the fertility of the years and the animals he had given them.

He said, "This year's celebration was a good opportunity to celebrate those who are affected by the consequences and what is to come, because it is in the Rwandan culture to share the green and the bitter, to celebrate those who are bitter, and thus we will be more united and not afraid of magic. I take this opportunity to thank you, the members of the Rwandan community in the Netherlands, for the support you have collected and allocated to those who are affected by what is to come."

In this event to celebrate Umuganura, children were given milk, as one of the traditions of dinner, the old and the young shared the food and drinks that had been prepared for them, cut the table, and socialized until late.

Click here to read the Ambassador's statement (in Kinyarwanda).

Click here for the photo album on Flickr.

Click here to read the article published by IGIHE, including photos & videos.