A new holiday from 1966
KWANZAA is much younger than most festivals. It was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor of Black studies in California, after riots in the Los Angeles neighbourhood of Watts the year before. He wanted a celebration that would bring African American families together around their African HERITAGE and CULTURE. It runs for SEVEN days, from 26 December to 1 January, and it is a cultural celebration rather than a religious one, so many families keep it alongside Christmas.
The name comes from the SWAHILI phrase matunda ya kwanza, first fruits, after the HARVEST festivals held in many parts of AFRICA. Swahili was chosen because it is spoken across much of East Africa rather than belonging to a single nation. The extra letter a at the end of Kwanzaa is said to have been added at an early celebration so that each of seven children could hold up a letter of the name. Our African countries page covers the continent.
Seven principles, seven candles
Each day of Kwanzaa is given to one of seven PRINCIPLES, the Nguzo Saba, each with a Swahili name: umoja, UNITY; kujichagulia, deciding for yourself who you are; ujima, working together; ujamaa, supporting each other's businesses; nia, purpose; kuumba, creativity; and imani, FAITH.
Each evening a family lights one more of the seven CANDLES in the KINARA, the candle holder. There are three RED candles on the left, three GREEN on the right and a single BLACK candle in the centre, which is lit first. The colours come from a flag designed in 1920 by the campaigner Marcus Garvey's organisation: black for the people, red for their struggle and green for the land and the future.
What's the news?
During Kwanzaa, people greet each other with the Swahili question Habari gani?, meaning what's the news? The answer is the name of that day's principle, so on the first day the reply is umoja, and on the last it is imani. After the black candle on the first night, the red and green candles are usually lit in turn, working in from the outside.
At the karamu feast, everyone may be called to shout harambee, let's all pull together, seven times. The celebration has spread to African-descended communities in Canada and the Caribbean, and American presidents have sent Kwanzaa greetings since the 1990s. Nobody knows exactly how many families keep it, and estimates vary widely, but many schools and museums hold Kwanzaa events each December.
The table, the feast and the gifts
The kinara stands on a straw mat called the MKEKA, which stands for history and tradition. On it are laid MAZAO, fruits and vegetables of the harvest, a unity cup from which the FAMILY drinks, and ears of CORN, one for each child in the household. On 31 December the whole COMMUNITY may gather for the KARAMU, a big feast with music, dancing and readings.
GIFTS are given on the last day, and they are meant to be handmade, or to be books and things that help children learn, rather than expensive shop-bought presents. In 1997 the United States Postal Service issued its first Kwanzaa stamp.