October 9, 2007
Celebrating the traditions of Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a non-religious African American holiday which celebrates family, community, and culture. It is celebrated for seven days: December 26 - January 1. There’s a great information site covering all the important details about Kwanzaa, including the seven principles, which help reinforce a sense of community amongst African-Americans.
For those of us not born into the culture, there's plenty of information available about the history of Kwanzaa . History.com offers a clear, informative way to learn of this important social holiday celebrated by millions, the principles it stands by and its origins. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits" in Swahili.
The celebration was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach in 1966. After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to bring African-Americans together as a community. He founded US, a cultural organization, and started to research African "first fruit" (harvest) celebrations. Karenga combined aspects of several different harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the Zulu, to form the basis of Kwanzaa.
Symbolism plays a large part of the festival with unity at its core. You can get a ‘potted history’ from the on-site video at History.com which covers the essentials of this relatively newly established social event.
Coffrey Park Greetings - another dedicated site, where urban culture is celebrated have Kwanzaa card packs. They currently have a number of special cards to help you celebrate the occasion.
Blue Mountain – one of the large electronic greeting card suppliers offers a big range of free Kwanzaa cards which will get you off to a great start.
Written by Geraldine Jozefiak
Craft Expert and Demonstrator
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