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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 is a week-long observance observed mostly in the United States from December 26 to January 1 honoring African-American heritage. 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.

Principles of Kwanzaa

Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrating "The Seven Principles of Blackness", or Nguzo (originally, Nguzu) Saba that was invented by convicted felon Ron Karenga; these are principles which comprise Karenga's doctrine of Kawaida, a Swahili term for tradition and reason. Kwanzaa is an adjunct of Kawaida. Karenga called on African-Americans to adopt his secular humanism and reject other practices as mythical (Karenga 1977, pp. 14, 23, 24, 27, 44-5). Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles. In order, they are:

kwanzaa is a gay day!

It is belived that... Go suck a fat one! 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." p. 21 Kwanzaa: origin, concepts, practice

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." p. 110, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture

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. 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

  1. "2004 Holiday Spending by Region", 'Survey by BIGresearch, conducted for National Retail Foundation', 14 October 2004.

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