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Kwanzaa

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Kwanzaa (Template:IPAc-en) is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day.<ref name="Why Kwanzaa">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref> It was created by activist Maulana Karenga based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West, East, as well as Southeast Africa. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966. Twenty-first-century estimates place the number of Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa between 500,000 and 2,000,000.<ref name="Scott2009"/>

History and etymologyEdit

American black separatist<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the aftermath of the Watts riots<ref>Wilde, Anna Day. "Mainstreaming Kwanzaa." Public Interest 119 (1995): 68–80.</ref> as a non-Christian,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> specifically African-American holiday.<ref name="Kwanzaa Date">Template:Cite news</ref> Karenga said his goal was to "give black people an alternative to the existing holiday of Christmas and give black people an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society."<ref>Kwanzaa celebrates culture, principles Template:Webarchive</ref> For Karenga, a figure in the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the creation of such holidays also underscored the essential premise that "you must have a cultural revolution before the violent revolution. The cultural revolution gives identity, purpose, and direction."<ref name="Mayes2009">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp

According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> First fruits festivals exist in Southern Africa and are celebrated in December/January with the southern solstice. Karenga was partly inspired by an account he read of the Zulu festival Umkhosi Wokweshwama.<ref name="Mayes2009" />Template:Rp It was decided to spell the holiday's name with an additional "a" so that it would have a symbolic seven letters.<ref name="Mayes2009" />Template:Rp

During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas. He believed Jesus was psychotic and Christianity was a "White" religion that Black people should shun.<ref>Karenga, Maulana (1967). "Religion". In Clyde Halisi, James Mtume. The Quotable Karenga. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press. pp. 25. 23769.8.</ref> As Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, Karenga altered his position so practicing Christians would not be alienated, stating in the 1997 book Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture that "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday."<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Many African Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After its creation in California, Kwanzaa spread outside the United States.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles)Edit

File:KwanzaaDisplay(cropped).jpg
A display of Kwanzaa symbols with fruit and vegetables

Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or Nguzo Saba (originally Nguzu Saba – the seven principles of African Heritage). They were developed in 1965, a year before Kwanzaa itself. These seven principles are all Swahili words, and together comprise the Kawaida or "common" philosophy, a synthesis of nationalist, pan-Africanist, and socialist values.

Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the principles, as follows:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  1. Umoja (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
  2. Kujichagulia (Self-determination): To define and name ourselves, as well as to create and speak for ourselves.
  3. Ujima (Collective work and responsibility): To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' 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 hearts in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

SymbolsEdit

File:2019Kinara.jpg
2019 public kinara in New York City

Kwanzaa celebratory symbols include a mat (Mkeka) on which other symbols are placed:

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  • Mishumaa Saba (seven candles)
  • mazao (crops)
  • Mahindi (corn), to represent the children celebrating (and corn may be part of the holiday meal).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • a Kikombe cha Umoja (unity cup) for commemorating and giving shukrani (thanks) to African Ancestors
  • Zawadi (gifts).

Supplemental representations include a Nguzo Saba poster,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the black, red, and green bendera (flag), and African books and artworks—all to represent values and concepts reflective of African culture and contribution to community building and reinforcement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ObservancesEdit

File:Kwanzaa-Myers.jpg
CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 representing 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.<ref name="Scott2009" /> "Joyous Kwanzaa" may be used as a greeting during the holiday.<ref name="bush2004">Template:Cite press release</ref><ref name = "clinton1997">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

A Kwanzaa ceremony may include drumming and musical selections, libations, a reading of the "African Pledge and the Principles of Blackness," contemplation on the Pan-African colors, discussion of the African principle of the day or a chapter of African history, a candle-lighting ritual, artistic performances, and, finally, a feast of faith known as Karamu Ya Imani.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The greeting for each day of Kwanzaa is Habari Gani?,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which is Swahili for "How are you?"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

At first, observers of Kwanzaa avoided the mixing of the holiday or its symbols, values, and practice with other holidays, as 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, some African American families celebrate Kwanzaa along with Christmas and the New Year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

KaramuEdit

A Karamu Ya Imani (Feast of Faith) is a feast typically on December 31, the sixth day of the Kwanzaa period. The Karamu feast was developed in Chicago during a 1971 citywide movement of Pan-African organizations. Hannibal Afrik of Shule ya Watoto proposed it as a community-wide promotional and educational campaign. The initial Karamu Ya Imani occurred on January 1, 1973, at a 200-person gathering at the Ridgeland club.<ref name="Joseph">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1992, the National Black United Front (NBUF) of Chicago held one of the country's largest Karamu Ya Imani celebrations. It included dancing, a youth ensemble and a keynote speech by NBUF and prominent Black nationalist leader Conrad Worrill.<ref name="McFarland">Template:Cite news</ref>

The celebration includes the following practices:

  • Kukaribisha (Welcoming)
  • Kuumba (Remembering)
  • Kuchunguza Tena Na Kutoa Ahadi Tena (Reassessment and Recommitment)
  • Kushangilia (Rejoicing)
  • Tamshi la Tambiko (Libation Statement)
  • Tamshi la Tutaonana (The Farewell Statement)

AdherenceEdit

File:Kwanza-RonKarenga.jpg
A 2003 Kwanzaa celebration with Kwanzaa founder Maulana Karenga at the center, and others

The popularity of celebration of Kwanzaa has declined with the waning of the popularity of the black separatist movement.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> Kwanzaa observation has declined in both community and commercial contexts.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> University of Minnesota Professor Keith Mayes did not report exact figures, noting that it is also difficult to determine these for the three other main African-American holidays, which he names as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Malcolm X Day, and Juneteenth.<ref name="Mayes2009"/>Template:Rp Mayes added that white institutions now also celebrate it.<ref name="Scott2009">Template:Cite news</ref>

In a 2019 National Retail Federation poll, 2.6 percent of people who planned to celebrate a winter holiday said they would celebrate Kwanzaa.<ref name="usatoday">Template:Cite news</ref> Roughly 14% of the United States population is African American.

Starting in the 1990s, the holiday became increasingly commercialized, with the first Hallmark card being sold in 1992.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some have expressed concern about this potentially damaging the holiday's values.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

RecognitionEdit

The first Kwanzaa stamp, designed by Synthia Saint James, was issued by the United States Post Office in 1997, and in the same year Bill Clinton gave the first presidential declaration marking the holiday.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Subsequent presidents George W. Bush,<ref name="bush2004"/> Barack Obama,<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> Donald Trump,<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> and Joe Biden<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> also issued greetings to celebrate Kwanzaa.

Maya Angelou narrated a 2008 documentary film about Kwanzaa, The Black Candle, written and directed by M. K. Asante and featuring Chuck D.<ref name=Asante>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Essence>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In the Arthur (TV series) special Arthur's Perfect Christmas, Brain's family celebrated Kwanzaa as a family, and added a Kwanzaa Ice Cream Special (red, black, and green ice cream) to their ice cream shop menu. <ref>Template:Cite episode</ref>

Practice outside the United StatesEdit

Other countries where Kwanzaa is celebrated include Jamaica, France, Canada, and Brazil.<ref name="Lord Contributor 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In Canada it is celebrated in provinces including Saskatchewan<ref name="CBC 2019">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Ontario. Kwanzaa week was first declared in Toronto in 2018.<ref name="WBFO 2018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are local chapters that emerged in the 2010s in provinces like British Columbia, where there are much smaller groups of the diaspora, founding members may be immigrants from countries like Uganda.<ref name="Service 2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

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