Kwanzaa

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Not to be confused with the Kwanza River in Angola, or the Angolan currency, "Kwanza".

A woman lights kinara candles on a table decorated with the symbols of Kwanzaa.Kwanzaa (sometimes spelled Kwaanza) is a week-long secular holiday observed from December 26 to January 1 honoring African-American heritage. Kwanzaa is celebrated almost exclusively by a small minority of African-Americans in the United States of America. Kwanzaa consists of seven days of celebration, featuring activities such as candle-lighting and pouring of libations, and culminating in a feast and gift-giving. According to one survey, Kwanzaa is celebrated by 1.6% of all Americans[1].

Kwanzaa was founded by black nationalist Ron Karenga, and first celebrated from December 26, 1966 to January 1st 1967. Karenga calls Kwanzaa the African American branch of "first fruits" celebrations of classical African cultures. Karenga has since further developed his vision and hosts the "Official Kwanzaa Web Site"

Contents [hide]
1 Origins
2 Principles of Kwanzaa
3 Observance
4 Etymology
5 References
6 External links




Origins

United States Postal Service "Kwanzaa" stampKwanzaa was created by political activist Ron Karenga in California in 1966, during his leadership of the black nationalist United Slaves Organization (also known as the "Us Organization").

Kwanzaa was originally intended to be an African-American alternative to Christmas. Karenga stated

"...it was chosen to give a Black alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society."
— Kwanzaa: origin, concepts, practice, p. 21 [2]
In 1997, Karenga moderated his stance, stating that Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday, but can be celebrated by people of any race.

"...other people can and do celebrate it, just like other people participate in Cinco de Mayo besides Mexicans; Chinese New Year besides Chinese; Native American pow wows besides Native Americans."
— Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture, p. 110 [3]

Principles of Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrating "The Seven Principles of Blackness", or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba). These seven principles comprise Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason. Karenga chose Swahili, an East African language, to celebrate African American ties to Africa even though census data indicates that most African Americans are descended from West African people[4]. Kwanzaa is an adjunct of Kawaida. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles. In order, they are:

Umoja (Unity)
Kujichagulia (Self-determination)
Ujima (Collective work and responsibility)
Ujamaa (Cooperative economics)
Nia (Purpose)
Kuumba (Creativity)
Imani (Faith)

Observance
Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their households with objects of art, colorful African cloth, especially the wearing of the Uwole by women, and fresh fruits that represent African idealism. It is customary to include children in Kwanzaa ceremonies and to give respect and gratitude to ancestors. Often alcoholic beverages are poured to the ground as libations, an ancient custom that has survived in the African-American community to this day.

At first, observers of Kwanzaa eschewed the mixing of the holiday or its symbols, values and practice with other holidays. They felt that doing so would violate the principle of kujichagulia (self-determination) and thus violate the integrity of the holiday, which is partially intended as a reclamation of important African values. Today, many African-American families celebrate Kwanzaa along with Christmas and New Year's. Frequently, both Christmas trees and kinaras, the traditional candle holder symbolic of African-American roots, share space in kwanzaa celebrating households. To them, Kwanzaa is an opportunity to incorporate elements of their particular ethnic heritage into holiday observances and celebrations of Christmas.


Etymology
The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza", meaning "first fruits". The additional "a" was added to "Kwanza" so that the word would have seven letters, for two reasons. At the time there were seven children in Karenga's United Slaves Organization, each wanted one of the letters in Kwanzaa[5]. The name was also meant to have a letter for each of the Seven Principles of Blackness. Kwanzaa is also sometimes spelled kwaanza, which also has seven letters.


References
^ "2004 Holiday Spending by Region", 'Survey by BIGresearch, conducted for National Retail Foundation', 14 October 2004.
^ "Where in Africa did African Americans Originate?", excerpted from Philip Curtin's "Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census", June 1969.

External links
The Official Kwanzaa Website
Everything About Kwanzaa (The International Kwanzaa Exchange [TIKE])
"The Story of Kwaanza (sic)" (The Dartmouth Review, January 15, 2001)
Special Kwanzaa section at CNN (1996)
The Gist: "Kwanzaa" (Slate.com column, December 14, 1996)
Happy Kwanzaa (Basic Info about Nguzo Saba and Kwanzaa Symbols)
An anti-Kwanzaa article by Paul Mulshine of Frontpagemag.com
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa"
Categories: Semi-protected | Pages needing attention | Wikipedia articles needing factual verification | Winter holidays | Holidays | African American culture