What is Kwanzaa? Do you celebrate Kwanzaa?

Kwanzaa is a week-long celebration in the United States honoring African heritage, culture, and seven basic principles. It is observed from December 26th to January 1st each year. The seven principles are: 1. Umoja (Unity) To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race. 2.Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves. 3.Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together. 4. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together. 5. Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. 6. Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it. 7. Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle. Kwanzaa features activities such as lightning a set of seven candles,called a Kinara, which represent the seven principles, pouring of libations, and ending in a feast and gift giving. Gifts are mainly given in children and include educational books and art or clothing. The art and clothing are either homemade or locally produced and must represent african history and culture. You'll hear many people say the holiday is 'fake' or a 'lie' because it didn't originate in africa. It was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966, who is an american and currently a Professor and Academic Adviser 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 their 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. However, very few people actually celebrate the holiday today. Most americans of african heritage today prefer to consider themselves to just be american and have issues with the principles of Kwanzaa and the man who created the holiday. The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase 'matunda ya kwanza', meaning first fruits of the harvest. Kwanzaa is modeled on first-fruits or harvest celebrations in ancient Africa, especially on Southern African first-fruits celebrations like Umkhost of Zululand which has seven days. Crops are symbolic of the rewards of productive and collective labor, which is one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The links below provide more information:

Karenga backtracked on his "African-American" only stance in 1997. Research his history - questionable person, but he is credited with a celebration that is rooted in logical principles. IMO everyone, regardless of race, should live by the principles celebrated during Kwanzaa. Wikipedia has a good article and you can expand your research from there.

In the 1960's, the african American people created a alternative holiday from Christmas to allow African Americans to celebrate in a national holiday. Back then kwanzaa was created to shun the white's Christmas because it was viewed as evil. Now kwanzaa is celebrated by only African Americans and any who wish to celebrate it as well.

Kwanzaa is celebrated by African Americans. No I do not celebrate it.

It's an African American holiday. No I don't celebrate it.

Kwanza is Mexicans new year. I don't celebrate it because I'm American.