What is Kwanzaa all about?

What is Kwanzaa? What do you do? Who celebrates it? Who started it?

  • I have no idea what Kwanzaa is about! Please tell me!!!!!

  • Answer:

    Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration held in the United States honoring African heritage and culture, marked by participants lighting a kinara (candle holder). It is observed from December 26 to January 1 each year. Kwanzaa features activities such as candle-lighting and pouring of libations, and culminating in a feast and gift giving. It was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, who is an american and currently a Professor and Academic Advisor Department of Africana Studies at California State University. Originally, Kwanzaa was created to give people of african heritage an alternative to the existing holidays and an opportunity to celebrate themselves and history, rather than simply imitate the practices of the dominant society. The founder later decided it should not be an alternative to faith based holidays and could be celebrated along with the other holidays by anyone. The links below provide more details.

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They try to celebrate it, but the cops always bust it up

jim

Kwanzaa is a secular holiday celebrating African culture and the family. The History Channel did a great special about it some time back. You can read about it here -----> http://www.history.com/content/kwanzaa

Demi

you smoke crack and steal things with your family

Kwanzaa is an American (non-African) winter celebration created by Marxist and felon, Ron (Everett) Karenga who served time in prison in the early 1970's after being convicted of felony assault and false imprisonment for torturing two black American women. The names of his victims are Deborah Jones and Gail Davis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Karenga

ʄaçade

Kwanzaa is a week long celebration held in the United States honoring universal African heritage and culture, marked by participants lighting a kinara (candle holder). 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 that represent 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. Non-African Americans also celebrate Kwanzaa.The holiday greeting is Joyous Kwanzaa. A Kwanzaa ceremony may include drumming and musical selections, libations, a reading of the African Pledge and the Principles of Blackness, reflection on the Pan-African colors, a discussion of the African principle of the day or a chapter in African history, a candle-lighting ritual, artistic performance, and, finally, a feast (Karamu). The greeting for each day of Kwanzaa is Habari Gani? which is Swahili for What's the News? 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. Cultural exhibitions include the Spirit of Kwanzaa, an annual celebration held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts featuring interpretive dance, African dance, song and poetry. In 1977, in Kwanzaa: origin, concepts, practice, Karenga stated, that Kwanzaa "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." In 1997, Karenga and the community evolved, stating that while Kwanzaa is an African-American holiday, it 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." Currently, according to the Official Kwanzaa Web Site authored by Karenga and maintained by Organization US, which Karenga chairs, "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday. And it is not an alternative to people's religion or faith but a common ground of African culture...Kwanzaa is not a reaction or substitute for anything. In fact, it offers a clear and self-conscious option, opportunity, and chance to make a proactive choice, a self-affirming and positive choice as distinct from a reactive one." Karenga's most recent interpretation emphasizes that while every people has its own holiday traditions, all people can share in the celebration of our common humanity: "Any particular message that is good for a particular people, if it is human in its content and ethical in its grounding, speaks not just to that people, it speaks to the world."

Tanyah

It's a week long celebrationof African herritage Celebrators light the Kinara with 7 candles in it 1 burns each day for the islamic religion it is a replacement for christmas and on the days there are times of work solitude and others you spend with family P.S it was made by a caucasian man I don't know why he made this if hes white

59973 Mike Dedaux

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