Kwanzaa

From December 26th to January 1, millions of people around the world participate and experience Kwanzaa, a celebration based upon African and indigenous people’s values and traditions. Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga at a time when Diasporan

- Junious Ricardo

Africans were breaking free from an oppressive Eurocentric hegemonic worldview and culture. It was designed to create and build a set of common core values, instill an appreciation for unity and build a foundation for empowerment and community renewal. Since its creation in the US, Kwanzaa is now accepted and celebrated.

Over the years, the celebration has had its detractors. Some opposed it because they thought it threatened or competed with Christmas. Some said it was “a made-up holiday,” some said or implied it was too Black, that it was not really African, while others resisted learning about it, learning the words, or they trivialized the principles behind it.

Others embraced the concept and have faithfully kept the Kwanzaa tradition despite its detractors. What the detractors fail to realize is all holy days (holidays) are man-made.

Each and every holiday in existence is the creation of the ethnic groups, institutions, and cultures that invented them for their own particular reasons to meet their specific needs. Every holiday in every ethnic group and every culture was “made up.” They were created by that particular group to meet a specific need, to generate a common esprit décor among the people, or to mold a belief or way of being within the group.