We all love the holidays! That wonderful time when you can see your friends and family

 celebrate different traditions together. I bet you’re probably wondering now, “What other holidays do people celebrate?” Kwanzaa is one of them. Kwanzaa is a seven-day celebration of African heritage and culture observed by the African American community in the United States from December 26th to January 1st. The term “matunda ya kwanza,” which in Swahili means “first fruits,” gave rise to the nonreligious holiday of Kwanzaa, which was inspired by several African harvest festivals. Despite being a newer holiday, fewer individuals are now participating in celebrations. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966, a year after the Watts Riots of 1965. After continuous years of letdown and brutality from the police, the community rioted. 

On August 11, 1965, Marquette Frye, a young African- American man from the Watts community was arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated. He was pulled over by a white California Highway Patrolman. Tensions increased between the two. Violence broke out and a crowd of about 250-300 onlookers began to form. Over the next six days, rioters looted and vandalized grocery stores, liquor stores, department stores, and pawnshops in addition to flipping and burning cars. A curfew zone of more than forty-five miles was imposed in South Los Angeles during the six-day riot, and more than 14,000 members of the California National Guard were deployed. The purpose of this uprising was to identify the causes of high unemployment rates, poor schools and access to educational resources, and inferior living conditions throughout the Watts community. Maulana Karenga, the creator of Kwanzaa is also an Africana study adjunct professor in Los Angeles. Karenga created Kwanzaa as an opportunity for Black Americans to connect back to their roots and be able to strengthen their bonds during a time of racial unrest. Although Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, it brings together the black community through the connection of a shared cultural heritage.

Many traditions are used during the celebration of Kwanzaa. Some of these include storytelling, singing, dancing, and large meals. The visual center of Kwanzaa is a set of objects that stand in for seven symbols. First, a Mkeka is placed, which represents tradition. All the other symbols are placed on the Mkeka. Then, the Kinara(candleholder) is placed to hold the seven candles. Each one of the seven candles represents one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa or the Nguzo Saba. Nguzo Saba is the set of values that are advocated: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-Determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith). These Seven Principles are the foundations of moral community creation and maintenance, and they strengthen and maintain the community’s capacity to define, defend, and advance its interests most healthily and effectively as possible.

There might also be a unity cup(Kikombe cha Umoja). Apart from these decorations, other traditions include giving gifts to children. During Kwanzaa, children are given gifts such as books or other things that have a lot of cultural significance. Finally, one other tradition is to prepare and share food. Some of these foods include rice, couscous, candied yams, buttermilk biscuits, spoonbread, plantains, okra stew, gumbo, and collard greens. 

To enable African-Americans to learn more about their ancestry and history in Africa, Karenga described the work of constructing Kwanzaa as an exercise of cultural discovery. Rather than relying on shared religious convictions, it binds the Black community. Kwanzaa was founded by Karenga to counter the harm caused by slavery and strengthen the relationships between black people. The Watts Riots demonstrated the extent to which the African American community had internalized systemic racism and the necessity of their coming together to form a powerful community. Several legislative and judicial rulings to end segregation and restrictions on African Americans were made as a result of the activism shown in incidents like the Watts Riots. They not only deepen ties within the African American community but also expose systemic prejudice in the legal system and deal with such issues.

Works Cited

McKeever, Amy. “Kwanzaa Celebrates African-American Heritage. Here’s How It Came to Be-and What It Means Today.” History, National Geographic, 3 May 2021, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/kwanzaa-history-traditions-information#:~:text=Activist%20Maulana%20Karenga%20and%20his,a%20time%20of%20racial%20unrest. 

 Dudenhoefer , Nicole. “What Is Kwanzaa?: UCF Africana Studies Expert Provides Insight on Celebration.” University of Central Florida News | UCF Today, 23 Dec. 2021, https://www.ucf.edu/news/what-is-kwanzaa/. 

King, S. L. (2021, November 2). These Kwanzaa traditions celebrate the power of honoring our past. Oprah Daily. Retrieved December 5, 2022, from https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/a34894511/kwanzaa-traditions/