What Do You Know About Kwanzaa?

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A friend was telling me about how her family celebrates Kwanzaa every year. I had heard of the holiday but didn’t really know very much about it. Are you familiar with this holiday? Many African-American families celebrate this seven-day holiday which was inspired by harvest festivals of Africa. It is a fairly NEW tradition, having been created, she said, by activist Maulana Karenga in 1966. She explained how the table is draped with a colorful cloth and on the table are baskets filled with fruits and vegetables. The kinara, a seven-stemmed candleholder is placed in the middle of the table, and it is surrounded by ears of corn – one for each child in the family. I had to look it up to remember some of the details she mentioned about lighting the candles, which are black and green and red. These candles represent values, such as cooperation, (ujima) unity, (umaja) faith, (Imani) and creativity. (kuumba) These names are taken from the Swahili language. Although Kwanzaa is recognized as the third (winter holiday,) along with Christmas and Hanukkah, she said that it is a nonreligious celebration for African-American families and it’s all about unity, values and heritage. The word Kwanzaa is a Swahili phrase that means “first fruits of the harvest.” This was all new information for me and I was glad that she explained it to me.