The origins of the non-religious holiday are tied back to the first harvest celebrations in Africa, according to the official holiday website. The Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," means "first fruits.
During the holiday, families and communities organize around what are known as the seven principles, or Nguzo Saba. The seven principles include, unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.
People celebrate with feasts, also known as karamu, music, dance, poetry, narratives and gifts that are encouraged to be educational and promote African heritage. The holiday is not widely celebrated, according to a Public Policy Polling poll , which found that just four percent of Americans primarily celebrate Kwanzaa. That number is just one percent more than the three percent who answered that the holiday they primarily celebrate is Festivus, a holiday invented by George Costanza from the television show Seinfeld.
Kwanzaa is based on year-end harvest festivals that occurred in Africa for thousands of years and the name "Kwanzaa" is derived from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," which translates to "first fruits of the harvest. Translated from Swahili into English, the seven principles are: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. The traditional Kwanzaa greeting is "Habari Gani," a Swahili phrase which translates in English to "what is the news?
In and , the United States Postal Service honored Kwanzaa by issuing stamps depicting an aspect of the festival. In , the stamp was designed by Synthia Saint James and showed an African-American family observing the celebrations. In , the stamp was designed by Daniel Minter and shows seven figures representing the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa gained popularity quite quickly. It is now estimated that about 13 percent of African-Americans nearly five million people celebrate the festival in some way.
While we diligently research and update our holiday dates, some of the information in the table above may be preliminary. If you find an error, please let us know. Thanksgiving Day in the United States is traditionally a holiday to give thanks for the food collected at the end of the harvest season. Robert E. Sign in. Is Kwanzaa first day a Public Holiday? Kwanzaa was created in by Dr. The week-long celebration is a secular event meant to celebrate African history and culture, and to give African-American people a holiday all their own.
It is estimated that around , to 2 million Americans celebrate Kwanzaa every year, according to research. So while the holiday has gained mainstream popularity in recent years, it is still one of the lesser-celebrated winter holidays. But for the those who do celebrate Kwanzaa, it's a special occasion filled with food, gifts, and meaningful connection to a rich culture.
Kwanzaa occurs at the same time every year, and like Hanukkah, is a week-long celebration. Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 until January 1 , capping off the holiday season and leading into the new year.
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