Recently, I was browsing through the holiday cards at my local Walgreens, lamenting the fact that I’d most likely pull the same well-intentioned thing I do almost every year, which is buy holiday cards that I never send. As a celebrator of Christmas and a lover of the idea of mailing well wishes, I have a healthy collection of unsent Christmas cards, as well as a nice bunch of Hanukkah, New Year, and even a few Boxing Day cards. But as I stood there, I noticed another card peeking out from the shelves, featuring a holiday I’d heard of, but never really knew much about: Kwanzaa.
What Is Kwanzaa Anyway?
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulena Karenga to give African Americans and Pan-Africans around the world the opportunity to simultaneously celebrate their common roots and ancestry, regardless of their faith.
Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, though it’s celebrated each year from December 26 through January 1 to take advantage of the holiday spirit already present during that time of year. Aside from the focus on common roots and ancestry, Kwanzaa also celebrates history, values, family, and community culture.
The holiday is grounded in the roots of Kawaida, also founded by Dr. Karenga. The Kawaida philosophy believes that going back to cultural basics and examining core values allows people to gain a better understanding of themselves based on where they came from, giving them perspective and a better understanding of where they need to go. There are three crucial Kawaida questions that are often asked on the seventh and final day of the Kwanzaa celebration (January 1), known as the Day of Assessment:
Who am I?
Am I really who I say I am?
Am I all that I ought to be?
Finding the answers to those questions often leads to more thought-provoking exploration using the seven Kwanzaa principles as a guide.
The Seven Social and Spiritual Principles of Kwanzaa, or the Nguzo Saba
Though Kwanzaa was created for and is celebrated by African-Americans and Pan-Africans, its seven guiding principles are a good reminder of what should be important to all of us when we think of our own community, our history, and our place in the world, no matter what our ethnic background. According to the Official Kwanzaa Web Site, these are the seven principles, their meaning, and their Swahili translation (listed first):
- Umoja (Unity): To strive for and 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 brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.
- Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics): 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 heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
The Seven Symbols
In addition to the seven principles, there are also seven symbols used to celebrate the holiday, which are typically arranged on an altar:
Mazao, the Crops
Mkeka, the Mat
Kinara, the Candle Holder
Muhindi, the Corn
Mishumaa Saba, the Seven Candles
Kikombe cha Umoja, the Unity Cup
Zawadi, the Gifts
In his 2007 Kwanzaa Founder’s Message, Dr. Karenga stated that the aim of Kwanzaa is not only to celebrate the well-being and flourishing of families, but also the well-being and flourishing of the world. Kwanzaa’s roots are in the celebration of first harvest and Kwanzaa celebrators believe that the holiday is a time to embrace the earth, as well as all the people in the world and how we work with one another to achieve a greater good. Dr. Karenga says, “Kwanzaa invites and encourages us to be thankful for the abundant good of the earth and to act in ways that show we will consciously work for the well-being and wholeness of the world.”
