Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African-American culture observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West, East, as well as Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.
The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits". First fruits festivals exist in Southern Africa and are celebrated in December/January with the southern solstice. During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas.
The Origins of Kwanzaa
American black separatist Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the aftermath of the Watts riots as a non-Christian, specifically African-American holiday. Karenga said his goal was to "give black people an alternative to the existing holiday of Christmas and give black people an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society." For Karenga, a figure in the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the creation of such holidays also underscored the essential premise that "you must have a cultural revolution before the violent revolution.
The Seven Principles of Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba - the seven principles of African Heritage). They were developed in 1965, a year before Kwanzaa itself. These seven principles are all Swahili words, and together comprise the Kawaida or "common" philosophy, a synthesis of nationalist, pan-Africanist, and socialist values.
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Here is a table summarizing the seven principles of Kwanzaa:
| Principle (Swahili) | English Translation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Umoja | Unity | To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. |
| Kujichagulia | Self-determination | To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves. |
| Ujima | Collective Responsibility | To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers’ and sisters’ problems our problems, and to solve them together. |
| Ujamaa | Cooperative Economics | To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together. |
| Nia | Purpose | To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. |
| Kuumba | Creativity | To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. |
| Imani | Faith | To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. |
Kwanzaa Celebrations and Traditions
Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their households with objects of art, colorful African cloth such as kente, especially the wearing of kaftans by women, and fresh fruits representing African idealism. It is customary to include children in Kwanzaa ceremonies and to give respect and gratitude to ancestors. Libations are shared, generally with a common chalice (Kikombe cha Umoja) passed around to all celebrants.
A Karamu Ya Imani (Feast of Faith) is a feast typically on December 31, the sixth day of the Kwanzaa period. The Karamu feast was developed in Chicago during a 1971 citywide movement of Pan-African organizations. Hannibal Afrik of Shule ya Watoto proposed it as a community-wide promotional and educational campaign. In 1992, the National Black United Front (NBUF) of Chicago held one of the country's largest Karamu Ya Imani celebrations.
Kwanzaa's Popularity and Recognition
The popularity of celebration of Kwanzaa has declined with the waning of the popularity of the black separatist movement. Kwanzaa observation has declined in both community and commercial contexts. University of Minnesota Professor Keith Mayes did not report exact figures, noting that it is also difficult to determine these for the three other main African-American holidays, which he names as Martin Luther King Jr.
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The first Kwanzaa stamp, designed by Synthia Saint James, was issued by the United States Post Office in 1997, and in the same year Bill Clinton gave the first presidential declaration marking the holiday. Subsequent presidents George W. Bush also issued presidential messages on Kwanzaa. Maya Angelou narrated a 2008 documentary film about Kwanzaa, The Black Candle, written and directed by M. K. Asante.
In Canada it is celebrated in provinces including Saskatchewan and Ontario.
What are the 7 principles of Kwanzaa?- Explaining the 7 principles of Kwanzaa for children.
Advent Calendars: A Different Kind of Anticipation
Advent is the season on the liturgical calendar that leads up to Christmas Day. It is the anticipation of Christmas and is celebrated by Christians all over the world. Advent typically starts on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, closest to St. Andrew’s Day (November 30th).
Advent Calendars came into being in the early 19th Century in Germany. German families would make chalk marks on the door to count down the days until Christmas, erasing a mark at the end of each day. Another tradition that developed was to light a candle on the Christmas tree each day to mark the days until Christmas. The first known wooden Advent Calendar was made in Germany in 1851 and sometime after that was the first mass-production of them. G.I.s still stationed in Europe started sending them home. Slowly they caught on. But it was in 1953, after Newsweek published an article about President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his family celebrating the Christmas Holidays, that the popularity grew.
In the first advent calendars the little paper doors revealed images of the Christmas Story and Christmas things. This eventually evolved by the 20th century to tokens, bible verses and by the 1950s, candy. The design and shapes of Advent Calendars now are as varied as the many cultures who celebrate with them. In Germany, for instance, they sometimes attach small bags to holiday wreaths.
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