Kwanzaa is a holiday that both somewhat mysterious and shrouded in controversy. It is considered mysterious by those who are unfamiliar with what it specifically celebrates. Also there is no clear number as to who actually celebrates it. There is also some controversy that follows the holiday based on its founder, Ron Karenga.
The word Kwanzaa is derived from a Swahili phrase that means “First fruits”. Though the exact number is unknown it is believed that the number of African Americans who celebrate this holiday ranges somewhere in the 20 millions and is primarily celebrated by those of the African American culture in the United States.
The number seven plays an important role in the holiday of Kwanzaa. The celebration lasts for seven days and is observed from December 26th to January 1st each year. There are seven letters in the word Kwanzaa which relate to the seven principles that the holiday is based on. These principles are significant to Kwanzaa beliefs. They are:
1. Unity: to strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.
2. Self-Determination: To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves
3. Collective work and responsibility: maintain our community together and make our brothers and sisters problems our problems
4. Cooperative Economics: to build and maintain our own stores, shops and businesses and to profit from them together
5. Purpose: to make our collective building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
6. Creativity: to always do as much as we can in the way that we can so that we can leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.
7. Faith: to believe with all our hearts in our people, our community leaders and in the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
It is through these seven principles that people celebrate the holiday. It is meant to be a secular holiday, not interfering with a family’s religious beliefs. During the celebration of the holiday there is candle lighting (similar to that of the Menorah from Jewish tradition), the ritual pouring of alcoholic beverages, feasting and gift giving.
The founder Ron Karenga developed this holiday in the 1960’s. He is well known as an African American author and a Marxist political activist. Also credited with the penning the mission statement for the Million Man March he is both admired and viewed suspiciously by some. There are some civil rights activists who claim that Karenga is not who he claims to be, they consider him to be a bit of hypocrite due to his shady history and alleged violence against the very people he desires to see in a united brotherhood. Whatever the standing of the father of this holiday is, Kwanzaa is a growing holiday that gains in numbers and as one comedian put it “Every holiday has to start somewhere.”
