Kwanzaa honors family, community
by Sabrina Jordan, reporter

    Along with Christmas and Hanukkah greetings this season, one might hear another celebratory greeting: Habari Gani.

    Many African-Americans celebrating Kwanzaa welcome each other with the Swahili phrase meaning “What’s the news?”

    A participant of Kwanzaa, Kingsley Umeh, described the event as “a way of life, not just a celebration.”

    The word Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase meaning first fruits. Thus, the festival, based on ancient African harvest celebrations, honors family, community and culture.

    Kwanzaa is a time to reflect on one’s life, Umeh said.

    “As a living social practice, it is a week of actual remembering, reassessing, recommitting, rewarding and rejoicing. For evaluation of ourselves and our history, we relate to our past, reassess our thoughts and practices and recommit ourselves to the achievement of Black liberation and the betterment of life for all Black Americans,” she said.

    Celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, each day of Kwanzaa is observed according to seven guiding principles: umoja, unity; kujichagulia, self-determination; ujima, collective work and responsibility; ujamaa, cooperative economics; nia, purpose; kuumba, creativity; and imani, faith.

    Through these principles, the Kwanzaa tradition is upheld. Decorating, feasting and gift giving are all a part of the Kwanzaa celebration.

    A candle is lit in a kinara each day. The proper kinara holds three green candles on the left, three red candles on the right and one black candle in the middle. Black represents the people, red the blood of their struggle and green hope and the future. The candles are lit from left to right.

    The Kwanzaa Karumu or feast, a communal and cooperative effort, is traditionally held Dec. 31. The feast’s program usually involves welcoming, remembering, reassessment, recommitment and rejoicing, concluding with a farewell statement and a call for greater unity.

    Karumu highlights foods from Africa, the American South, the Caribbean and South America and features Kwanzaa’s symbols.

    Symbols include a unity cup for a communal toast, the Kinara, fruits and vegetables to represent the harvest, and a straw mat with an ear of corn for each child in the house.

    Although gift giving is encouraged, gifts during Kwanzaa are generally affordable and of an educational or artistic nature. Not only is creativity (kuumba) one of the seven principles, those who celebrate Kwanzaa believe it also brings a sense of personal satisfaction and exemplifies the spirit of Kwanzaa. Gifts are usually exchanged between parents and children and traditionally given on the last day of Kwanzaa although they may be given at any time during the week.

    Kwanzaa was designed for African-Americans to focus on the traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce and self-improvement. Its founder, Dr. Maulana Karenga, established Kwanzaa for neither political nor religious reasons. Despite some misconceptions, it is also not a substitute for Christmas.

    Umeh said it is simply a time of reaffirming African-American people, their ancestors and culture.

    “The African-American holiday is to help Black-Americans relate to the past in order to understand the present and deal with the future,” she said.