Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles) Ī display of Kwanzaa symbols with fruit and vegetables Smith, Reverend Conrad Tillard, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, and Elisha Wiesel joined to celebrate Kwanzaa and Hanukkah together at Carnegie Hall. In December 2022, Reverend Al Sharpton, Mayor Eric Adams, businessman Robert F.
Īfter its initial creation in California, Kwanzaa spread outside the United States. As Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, Karenga altered his position so practicing Christians would not be alienated, stating in the 1997 book Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture that "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.
He believed Jesus was psychotic and Christianity was a "White" religion that Black people should shun. ĭuring the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas. It was decided to spell the holiday's name with an additional "a" so that it would have a symbolic seven letters. First fruits festivals exist in Southern Africa, celebrated in December/January with the southern solstice, and Karenga was partly inspired by an account he read of the Zulu festival Umkhosi Wokweshwama. The cultural revolution gives identity, purpose, and direction." Īccording to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits". Karenga said his goal was to "give blacks an alternative to the existing holiday of Christmas and give blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society." For Karenga, a major figure in the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the creation of such holidays also underscored the essential premise that "you must have a cultural revolution before the violent revolution. History and etymology Īmerican Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the aftermath of the Watts riots as a specifically African-American holiday. A 2015 survey found that 1.9% of those polled planned to celebrate Kwanzaa – about six million people in the United States. It was created by activist Maulana Karenga, based on African harvest festival traditions from various parts of West and Southeast Africa. z ə/) is an annual celebration of African-American culture from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a communal feast called Karamu, usually on the sixth day.
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