Rated
Dec 20
•
1 review
•
culture, african american
• nytimes.com
The Seven Days of Kwanzaa
"On the day after Christmas ..... a small group of black Americans in Los Angeles began a nonreligious seven-day celebration commemorating black culture worldwide, particularly the importance of the black community and family.
Since that first unassuming observance, Kwanzaa, which means "first fruits of the harvest" in Swahili, has been adapted into the holiday celebrations in some manner by more than five million African-Americans. And with increasing frequency small, community-oriented events have been paralleled by lavish festivals held at colleges and universities, museums and public institutions across the United States.
"Kwanzaa fills a gap," said Larry Crowe, manager of the African-American Book Center in Chicago, who has celebrated Kwanzaa since 1974. "Previously African-Americans didn't have a celebration in which we could recognize our strength as a people, where we could cite the best things about us and try to live up to them.
Kwanzaa is not a substitute for Christmas. In fact, most people who celebrate Kwanzaa also celebrate Christmas. The philosophical bedrock of Kwanzaa, which was developed by Dr. Maulana Karenga, chairman of black studies at the University of California at Long Beach, is the Nguzo Saba, a framework of seven principles for black people to live by all year. The principles, in Swahili and English, are: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamma (cooperative economics), nia (purpose), kuumba (creativity), imani (faith). Kwanzaa is a time to rededicate one's efforts to putting those principles into daily practice. A black, red or green candle on a seven-branched candelabrum is lighted on each of the seven days of Kwanzaa, and each day a family member discusses one of the principles." Excerpt from article by Eric V. Copage.
The Official Kwanzaa Website
"The greetings during Kwanzaa are in Swahili. Swahili is a Pan-African language and is chosen to reflect African Americans' commitment to the whole of Africa and African culture rather than to a specific ethnic or national group or culture. The greetings are to reinforce awareness of and commitment to the Seven Principles. It is: "Habari gani?" and the answer is each of the principles for each of the days of Kwanzaa, i.e., "Umoja", on the first day, "Kujichagulia", on the second day and so on." Much more on the site.
Kwanzaa is celebrated starting December 26th through January 1st
Wishing all my African-American friends and visitors a Happy Kwanzaa