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| {{About||the river in Angola|Cuanza River|the currency|Angolan kwanza}} | |||
| {{Infobox holiday | |||
| |holiday_name = Kwanzaa | |||
| |image = Kwanza-RonKarenga.jpg | |||
| |caption = 2003 Kwanzaa celebration with its founder, ], and others | |||
| |observedby = ], parts of ] | |||
| |date = December 26 to January 1 | |||
| |celebrations = Unity<br />Creativity<br />Faith<br />Giving gifts | |||
| |type = Cultural and ethnic | |||
| |significance = Celebrates African heritage, unity, and culture. | |||
| |relatedto = ] | |||
| |nickname = | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Kwanzaa''' is a week-long celebration held in the ] and also celebrated in the ] ] in other nations of the Americas. The celebration honors African heritage in ], and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift-giving.<ref name="Why Kwanzaa">{{cite web|url=http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/kwanzaa.html|publisher="]"|title=Why Kwanzaa Video}}</ref> Kwanzaa has seven core principles (''Nguzo Saba''). It was created by ], and was first celebrated in 1966–67. | |||
| ==History and etymology== | |||
| ] created Kwanzaa in 1965 as the first specifically African-American holiday.<ref name="Kwanzaa Date">{{cite news|url=http://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F00B1EFD395C0C738FDDAB0994DB484D81|work=]"|title=The Evening Hours|date=1983-12-30 |accessdate=2006-12-15 | first=Ron | last=Alexander}}</ref> Karenga said his goal was to "give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society."{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the ] phrase ''matunda ya kwanza'', meaning "first fruits of the harvest". {{Citation needed|date=November 2014}} The choice of Swahili, an ]n language, reflects its status as a symbol of ], especially in the 1960s, although most East African nations were not involved in the ] that brought African people to America.<ref>http://books.google.co.za/books?id=1rHLyC2yHQ8C&q=Mozambique#v=snippet&q=Mozambique&f=false The Atlantic Slave Trade By Herbert S. Klein Klein</ref> | |||
| Kwanzaa is a celebration that has its roots in the ] movement of the 1960s, and was established as a means to help African Americans reconnect with their African cultural and historical heritage by uniting in meditation and study of African traditions and ''Nguzo Saba'', the "seven principles of African Heritage" which Karenga said "is a ] African philosophy". | |||
| During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said that it was meant to be an "oppositional alternative" to ].<ref>Madhubuti, Haki R. (1972) ''Kwanzaa: A Progressive and Uplifting African-American Holiday''</ref> However, as Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, Karenga altered his position so that practicing Christians would not be alienated, then stating in the 1997 ''Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture'', "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday." | |||
| Many African Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/20/garden/in-blacks-homes-the-christmas-and-kwanzaa-spirits-meet.html?pagewanted=1 | work=The New York Times | title=In Blacks' Homes, the Christmas and Kwanzaa Spirits Meet | first=Lena | last=Williams | date=1990-12-20 | accessdate=2010-05-07}}</ref> | |||
| ==Principles and symbols== | |||
| <!--This section is linked from Nguzo Saba. When changing the heading name please take care to update this page as well.--> | |||
| Kwanzaa celebrates what its founder called the seven principles of Kwanzaa, or ''Nguzo Saba'' (originally ''Nguzu Saba''—the seven principles of African Heritage), which Karenga said "is a ] ]," consisting of what Karenga called "the best of African thought and practice in constant exchange with the world." These seven principles comprise *'']'', a ] term for ] and ]. Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, as follows: | |||
| *''Umoja'' (Unity): To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race. | |||
| *''Kujichagulia'' (Self-Determination): To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves. | |||
| *''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. | |||
| *'']'' (]): To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together. | |||
| *''Nia'' (Purpose): To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness. | |||
| *''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. | |||
| *''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. | |||
| Kwanzaa symbols include a decorative mat (Mkeka) on which other symbols are placed, ] (Muhindi) and other crops, a candle holder ] with seven candles (Mishumaa Saba), a communal cup for pouring ] (Kikombe cha Umoja), gifts (Zawadi), a poster of the seven principles, and a black, red, and green flag. The symbols were designed to convey the seven principles.<ref name="Symbols"> | |||
| {{cite web | |||
| |url = http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org/symbols.shtml | |||
| |title = The Symbols of Kwanzaa | |||
| |accessdate = 2010-12-24}}</ref> | |||
| ==Observance== | |||
| ] | |||
| Families celebrating Kwanzaa decorate their households with objects of art; colorful African cloth such as ], especially the wearing of ] by women; and fresh fruits that represent African idealism. It is customary to include children in Kwanzaa ceremonies and to give respect and gratitude to ancestors. ] are shared, generally with a common chalice, ''Kikombe cha Umoja'', passed around to all celebrants. Non-African Americans also celebrate Kwanzaa.<ref name="mayesscott" /> The holiday greeting is "Joyous Kwanzaa".<ref name="bush2004">{{cite web | |||
| |url = http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2004/12/20041223-2.html | |||
| |title = Presidential Kwanzaa Message, 2004 | |||
| |accessdate = 2007-12-24 | |||
| |last = Bush | |||
| |first = George W. | |||
| |date = 2004-12-23 | |||
| |publisher = Office of the Press Secretary | |||
| }}</ref><ref name = "clinton1997">{{cite news | |||
| |title = Clinton offers holiday messages | |||
| |url = http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/12/23/message/ | |||
| |publisher = CNN | |||
| |date = 1997-12-23 | |||
| |accessdate = 2007-12-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | |||
| |first = Elaine | |||
| |last = Gale | |||
| |title = Appeal of Kwanzaa continues to grow; holidays: today marks start of the seven-day celebration of African culture, which began in Watts 32 years ago and is now observed by millions. | |||
| |url = http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/37610058.html?dids=37610058:37610058&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Dec+26%2C+1998&author=ELAINE+GALE&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Appeal+of+Kwanzaa+Continues+to+Grow%3B+Holidays%3A+Today+marks+start+of+the+seven-day+celebration+of+African+culture%2C+which+began+in+Watts+32+years+ago+and+is+now+observed+by+millions.&pqatl=google | |||
| |publisher = Los Angeles Times | |||
| |date = 1998-12-26 | |||
| |accessdate = 2007-12-24}}</ref> | |||
| A Kwanzaa ceremony may include drumming and musical selections, libations, a reading of the African Pledge and the Principles of Blackness, reflection on the ], a discussion of the African principle of the day or a chapter in African history, a candle-lighting ritual, artistic performance, and, finally, a feast (]). The greeting for each day of Kwanzaa is ''Habari Gani?''<ref></ref> which is Swahili for "What's the News?"<ref></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, many African American families celebrate Kwanzaa along with ] and ].{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}} Frequently, both Christmas trees and ]s, the traditional candle holder symbolic of African American roots, share space in Kwanzaa-celebrating households. For people who celebrate both holidays, Kwanzaa is an opportunity to incorporate elements of their particular ethnic heritage into holiday observances and celebrations of Christmas. | |||
| Cultural exhibitions include the Spirit of Kwanzaa, an annual celebration held at the ] featuring ], ], song and poetry.<ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
| The holiday has also spread to Canada, and is celebrated by Black Canadians in a similar fashion as in the United States.<ref name="The principles of Kwanzaa">{{cite web|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/society/celebrations/clips/16226/ |title=The principles of Kwanzaa |publisher=CBC |date= Broadcast Date: Dec. 28, 1993 |accessdate=2011-12-16}}</ref> | |||
| ==Popularity== | |||
| In 2004, BIG Research conducted a marketing survey in the United States for the ], which found that 1.6% of those surveyed planned to celebrate Kwanzaa. If generalized to the US population as a whole, this would imply that around 4.7 million people planned to celebrate Kwanzaa in that year.<ref>, 'Survey by BIGresearch, conducted for ]', 14 October 2004</ref> In a 2006 speech, ] asserted that 28 million people celebrate Kwanzaa. He has always claimed it is celebrated all over the world.<ref name="Why Kwanzaa"/> Lee D. Baker<!-- Who is he? --> puts the number at 12 million.<ref>Manning Marable, ''Dispatches from the Ebony Tower,'' p. 224.</ref> The ] claimed 30 million in 2009.<ref name="ohioupost">"", ''The Post,'' Ohio University, 1 November 2011. Accessed 25 December 2012.</ref> In 2011, Keith Mayes said that 2 million people participated in Kwanzaa.<ref name="ohioupost"/> | |||
| According to ] Professor Keith Mayes, the author of ''Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African-American Holiday Tradition,'' the popularity within the US has "leveled off" as the ] there has declined, and now between half and two million people celebrate Kwanzaa in the US, or between one and five percent of African Americans. Mayes adds that ] institutions now celebrate it.<ref name="mayesscott">Keith Mayes, cited by Megan K. Scott, "", ''Buffalo News,'' 17 December 2009. Accessed 25 December 2009.</ref> | |||
| The holiday has also spread to Canada, and is celebrated by ] in a similar fashion as in the United States.<ref name="The principles of Kwanzaa"/> According to the Language Portal of Canada, ''"this fairly new tradition has gained in popularity in France, Great Britain, Jamaica and Brazil"'', although this information has not been confirmed with authoritative sources from these countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/bien-well/fra-eng/vocabulaire-vocabulary/clbrt-kwanzaa-eng.html |title=Celebrate Kwanzaa! |publisher=Government of Canada |date= Date Modified: 2011-02-21 |accessdate=2011-12-16}}</ref> | |||
| In Brazil, in recent years the term Kwanzaa has been applied by a few institutions as a synonym for the festivities of the ], commemorated on November 20 in honor of ],<ref> on Black Awareness Day in ].</ref><ref> on the 28th anniversary of ] School in ].</ref> having little to do with the celebration as it was originally conceived. | |||
| In 2009, ] narrated the documentary '']'', a film about Kwanzaa. | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| {{Portal|African American|Holidays}} | |||
| *'']'' | |||
| *'']'' – a film about Kwanzaa | |||
| *] – A shirt or suit worn during Kwanzaa celebrations | |||
| *] – A dress worn by women during Kwanzaa celebrations | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist|3}} | |||
| ==External links== | |||
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| *: Karenga discusses the evolution of the holiday and its meaning. Tavis Smiley (NPR) | |||
| * | |||
| {{Pan-Africanism}} | |||
| {{African American topics}} | |||
| {{US Holidays}} | |||
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