By The Associated Press’s Graham Lee Brewer
Since its inception in 1966, Kwanzaa has grown to become a nationally known celebration of African culture and community in the United States. Countries with sizable populations of people descended from Africans also commemorate it.
The holiday, which lasts for seven days from the day after Christmas to New Year’s Day, is a national community event that strengthens self-determination and solidarity in the face of persecution. It is observed in homes and communities across the country, as well as in huge, city-sponsored events.
In the decades since its inception, Kwanzaa has gained popularity, and according to a 2019 AP-NORC survey, 3% of the nation celebrates it. The U.S. Postal Service started producing Kwanzaa stamps in 1997, and former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton all issued comments honoring the occasion.
As a federal holiday, it is not acknowledged.
Kwanzaa s origins
In order to reunite Black communities in the United States with significant African cultural traditions that had been disrupted by the transatlantic slave trade, Kwanzaa was created during the Black Freedom Movement of the 1960s. It also encourages liberation and solidarity.
Maulana Karenga, the inventor of the festival, stated in his yearly Kwanzaa lecture in 2023 that it was also influenced by the defining decade of the 1960s, which saw Africans and other peoples of color fight for freedom, justice, and related commodities all across the world. Because of this, Kwanzaa was born, became rooted, and developed as an act, a tool, a celebration, and a practice of freedom.
African American academic, novelist, and activist Karenga established Kwanzaa in the wake of the Watts Riots, also called the Watts Rebellion, in Los Angeles in 1965.
In an interview with Henry Lewis Gates Jr. for PBS, Karenga characterized Kwanzaa as a festival that serves as a political motivation.
According to Janine Bell, president and artistic director of the Elegba Folklore Society in Richmond, Virginia, the goal is for African and African-descended people to unite around family, community, and culture so that we can be in places where, in the words of Dr. Karenga, we feel fully African and fully human at the same time.
The seven Kwanzaa principles—Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective effort and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economy), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith)—are symbolized by the seven candles held by a Kinara.
(Source: Tampa Bay Times/Boyzell Hosey.)TNS
The basics
Although Kwanzaa is a secular celebration, many people celebrate it in conjunction with religious holidays like Christmas. Participants may be of any race, religion, or ethnicity.
Mutanda ya kwanza, a Swahili expression meaning “first fruits” or “first harvest,” is where the word Kwanzaa originates. In order to accommodate the seven youngsters who attended the first Kwanzaa and were each given a letter to symbolize them, the last “a” was added to the name.
Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith) are the seven principles that collectively govern the holiday, which is observed according to a different principle every day.
A kinara, or candleholder with seven candles, is used to symbolize the Nguzo Saba. One of the candles is lit every night. Similar to the Kwanzaa flag, the candles are colored black to symbolize the people, red to symbolize their struggles, and green to symbolize their optimism.
Every year, major Kwanzaa celebrations take place in cities including Detroit, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. These gatherings frequently include dancing, music, and storytellers.
Bell said the theme at this year s Capital City Kwanzaa Festival in Richmond is knowledge of self, and an African descendent will be selected by drawing a name from a fishbowl to win a free DNA test so they can learn where they come from.
Since children are essential to the survival of culture and the growth of communities, the holiday is also celebrated in individual families, frequently with a focus on them. Corn frequently serves as a symbolic representation of this idea of children and the future they represent.
Bell stated that the goal is for it to be 365 days a year. On January 2nd, the necessity of the ideals and their bolstering worth do not cease.
Family celebrations also involve giving gifts and sharing African American and Pan African foods, culminating in the Karamu, a feast featuring dishes from across the African diaspora. Common cuisines include popular African delicacies like jollof rice or southern mainstays like sweet potato pie.
Activities over the seven days are geared toward reaffirming community bonds, commemorating the past and recommitting to important African cultural ideals. This can involve honoring ancestors, dancing, reading poetry, and lighting the kinara every day.
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