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Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a week-long festival that honorsAfrican American heritage and culture. It runs from December 26 to January 1 of the following year.
It was invented by a social activist namedMaulana Karenga
(who was born Ron Everett, but changed his name to something more "Africanesque" later on) in 1966. It was purposely put around the time ofChristmas so people would remember the holiday. The new traditions were given Swahili names, because Swahili is a relatively easyAfrican language to access. However, Swahili is anEast African language while most African-Americans are descended frompeople taken fromWest Africa. Celebrants use amenorah-like object called a kinara to hold ceremonial candles as part of the ritual surrounding the holiday.
There are seven principles of Kwanzaa, each with a Swahili name:
- Umoja (unity)
- Kujichagulia (self-determination)
- Ujima (collective work and responsibility)
- Ujamaa (cooperative economics)
- Nia (purpose)
- Kuumba (creativity)
- Imani (faith)
While many[Who?] have claimed that Kwanzaa, as a made-up holiday, has no significance and should not be observed, it must be remembered thatall holidays are made up. An amusing example isAnn Coulter, who on the one hand believes Kwanzaa was created by an African-AmericanFBI stooge[1] and thus should be ignored, and on the other hand gets really upset when people point out good ole'Saint Nicholas wasn't very white at all[2], preferring the modern made-up version.