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Kwanzaa is a celebration of life and the up life of human beings based on the principles of African culture. It is celebrated by some African Americans between December 26 and January 1, and is a week long celebration. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Mulana Karenga/Ron Karenga (born Ron Everett), a professor and chair of the Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach. Karenga is an author and activist who stressed the indispensable need to preserve, continually revitalize and promote American culture through African rituals. Dr. Karenga is chairperson of the organization US.

Kwanzaa was established in aftermath of the Watts, California Watts Riots. This series of riots was due to police brutality viewed by citizens. Black Liberation, Black Freedom Movement the 1960s (see Black Power), and reflects that movement's concerns for African-American cultural groundedness in thought and practice (commonly referred to as 'black pride'), and the community and self-determination associated with this. Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, but a cultural one, a syncretic festival, based on various elements of the first harvest celebrations that are widely celebrated in Africa, as in the rest of the world.

Each of the days symbolizes one of the "Seven Principles (Nguzu Saba) of Blackness":

• Umoja (Unity),
• Kujichagulia (Self-determination),
• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility),
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics),
• Nia (Purpose),
• Kuumba (Creativity), and
• Imani (Faith).

Its name derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits". An additional "a" was added to Swahili "kwanza" so that the word would have seven letters, one for each of the seven principles.

In December 1998, the World African Network estimated that 28 million people celebrate Kwanzaa worldwide each year.

In the United States, Kwanzaa is often linked with the ancient religious holidays Christmas and Chanukah, both of which also fall in December; however, some Christian and Jewish leaders have complained about having the two festivals equated with a celebration that dates back less than four decades. They argue that this has been caused by misguided attempts at political correctness.

External link

• The official Kwanzaa website

Reference

Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture, Commemorative Edition, Los Angeles, University of Sankore Press, 1998

• Christmas-linked holidays
• African American culture