What is the "Kwanzaa" festival?

Kwanzaa Day is an African-American cultural holiday, adopted around the world, including Canada, that celebrates African family, community and culture.

Kwanzaa Day is an African-American cultural holiday, adopted around the world, including Canada, that celebrates African family, community, and culture.

Created by Dr. Maulana Karenga (b. Ronald McKinley) of US (a black nationalist group; US means "We, the black people"), Kwanzaa Day was created to support African-American culture and unite black communities in the aftermath of violent race riots in Los Angeles' Watts neighborhood in 1966. The first Kwanzaa Day was celebrated in 1966-1967 and has been running from December 26 to January 1.

The name Kwanzaa is derived from a Swahili expression (matundaya kwanza) which means "the first fruits". The expression refers to a seven-day festival that includes traditional African harvest festivals and cultural activities that take place throughout Africa. Since there were only six letters in the word Kwanza, a second "a" was added so that the word is composed of seven letters and thus corresponds to the seven principles of nguzo saba or Kwanzaa. The seven-day celebrations represent the seven values of nguzo saba: Umoja (Unity), Kuji-chagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective Responsibility and Work), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economy), Nia (Intention), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).

The seven symbols highlighted during Kwanzaa represent community values: a straw mat to symbolize the foundation of the community; fruits and vegetables to symbolize abundance and corn to symbolize growth and prosperity; a cup to represent sharing; a Kinara or seven-branch candleholder; and homemade gifts to represent creativity and intention. The seventh symbol is represented by the candles: three red, three green and one black candle to represent the colors of the Pan-African flag, itself a symbol of the unity of African peoples.

In order to ensure that the values and meaning of the Kwanzaa festival do not merge with those of other festivals that take place at the same time and to ensure that the principle of kujichagulia or self-determination is present, many families celebrate the Kwanzaa festival in addition to other festivals such as Christmas or other celebrations of their own.

Kwanzaa Day first appeared in Canada in 1993. Although it was created, as Karenga puts it, to "give blacks a feast other than those already established and give blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history rather than simply imitate the customs of the dominant society," it can be celebrated by anyone who wishes to do so.