answersLogoWhite

0

Kwanzaa

Established by Maulana Karenga, Kwanzaa is a seven-day festival in the US (December 26 to January 1) aimed at strengthening African-American culture and heritage. The celebration culminates in a feast where gift-giving usually takes place.

500 Questions

What are the three colors in Kwanzaa?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

The color of the African peoples is what black stands for on the Kwanzaa flag. The blood shed by the African ancestors of African-Americans in the United States is what red stands for. The hope for a good future is what green stands for.

On Christmas why do you celebrate Santas birthday?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Santa Claus is a somewhat mangled translation of Saint Nicolas, a Greek Bishop in what is now Turkey. He regularly took aid to the poor and homeless of his time, and after his death was made a saint for that.

The modern stories of Santa Claus I find a sickening parody of the real man!

What is the order of Kwanzaa candle?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

The colors of Kwanzaa are black, red and green; black for the people, red for their struggle, and green for the future and hope that comes from their struggle.

The black candle represents the first principle Umoja (unity) and is placed in the center of the kinara.

The red candles represent the principles of Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujamaa (cooperative economics) and Kuumba (creativity) and are placed to the left of the black candle.

The green candles represent the principles of Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Nia (purpose) and Imani (faith) and are placed to the right of the black candle.

The black candle is lit first on the first day of the celebration. And the remaining candles are lit afterwards from left to right (not alternating) on the following days.

This procedure is to indicate that the people come first, then the struggle and then the hope that comes from the struggle. Each day the candles are re-lit in order. Each day, emphasis should be put on the meaning of the principle and how you have and plan to exhibit that principle throughout the year.

What does the word kwanzaa?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Celebrates African Traditions -Apex

When does Kwanzaa end?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Kwanzaa starts on December 26 and lasts until January 1 every year. :P

What was the celebration of Kwanzaa meant for?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Honor the African tradition of harvest festivals.

What is the significance of the Kwanzaa candles?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

They symbolize the joining of the Homosapien to the religious aspects of the Kwanzaa belief and it is with this spiritual connection that these candles help us relate to who was and who will become.

What do the candles represent on Kwanzaa?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

They each represent one of the 7 principles. The seven principles are: umoja (unity), kujichagulia(self-determination), ujima (collective work and responsibility), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia(purpose), kuumba (creativity), and imani(faith).

What are Kwanzaa's seven principles and their meanings?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa(collective economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba(creativity), and Imani (faith) are the seven principles of Kwanzaa. They are symbolized in the seven candles of the special Kwanzaa candle holder called the kinara. One candle is lit the first night of Kwanzaa, on December 26. Each succeeding night through January 1, a different candle is lit, followed by the lighting of all the candles lit on the immediately preceding nights.

When was Kwanzaa created?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Dr. Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 as the first African American holiday. He was born Ronald McKinley Everett on a poultry farm in Parsonsburg, Maryland on July 14, 1941. He would eventually change his name many years later.

Karengo is a professor and Chair of the Department of African Studies at California State University, Long Beach.

Who started the Kwanzaa tradition?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

it started in 1966

Do African Americans only celebrate Kwanzaa?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

No, depending on what religion they are, they celebrate other holidays too. (ex. African American Christians also celebrate Christmas, Easter, etc.)

What is celebrated in Kwanzaa?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

An African-American holiday based upon ancient customs of Africa. Dr. Maulana Korenga created Kwanzaa in 1966. It is based upon harvest or first fruit harvest traditions found through out Africa. Dr Korenga sought to develop a celebration that would reaffirm African heritage and culture, introduce and reinforce the seven principles (Nguzo Sara), create a purely African-American holiday, serve as a communal celebration that reaffirms and reinforces the bonds between African-Americans, and serve as an act of cultural self-determination as an African people.

Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26th through January 1st. It is a time for family and friends. It is traditional for those celebrating Kwanzaa to wear traditional African clothing. Kwanzaa incorporates seven principles in its celebration. Each day of Kwanzaa celebrates one of those principles.

The first day: UMOJA (Oo-moe-jah) Unity

The commitment to the ideal of togetherness, its the foundation, without unity neither the family nor the community can survive. Unity begins with family; on this day the family gathers and discusses how they as a family establish unity among themselves and on the larger plane among the community.

The second day: KUJICHAGULIA (Coo-gee-ha-lee-ah) Self-Determination

The commitment of taking responsibility for ones own's life.

The third day: UJIMA (Oo-gee-mah) Collective work and responsibility.

The commitment to self-criticism and personal evaluation. The family and community are reminded on this day that they are collectively responsible for its victories, achievements and failures.

The fourth day: UJAMAA (Oo-jah-mah) Cooperative economics

The commitment of communal living i.e. everyone in the family has an equal say and share in the wealth and resources of the family.

The fifth day: NIA (Nee-ah) Purpose

The commitment of reevaluating the use of individual skills and their use for good within the family and community.

The sixth day: KUUMBA (Koo-m-bah) Creativity

The commitment to the use of one's creativity for the uplifting of the family and community. The community is celebrated with a feast of foods shared this day with those who attend the feast. After the feast there are celebrations of African dancing and music.

The seventh day: IMANI (E-mahn-e) Faith

The commitment of faith in ourselves as a people.

What is the origin of the word 'Kwanzaa'?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Kwanzaa comes from a Swahili phrase 'matunda ya kwanza'. An additional 'a' was added to Kwanza so the word would have the same number of letters as there were for the Principles of 'Nguzu Saba' of Blackness.

When was the Kwanzaa feastival created by whom?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Maulana Ron Karenga(b. Ronald McKinley Everett, July 14, 1941) is the person responsible for the first kwanzaa, in 1966.

Specifically, the first celebration ran from the last week of December 1966 until New Year's Day 1967. Each year since, the event celebrates the African heritage of African-American communities in the United States of America. The celebrations always are held on the same date and in the same way each year. So the first celebration in 1966 was the beginning of a festive celebration that has become a traditional part of African-American culture.

How many people celebrate Kwanzaa?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Kwanzaa is NOT a religious celebration. It is a week-long celebration in the U.S. created in 1966 by the Black Nationalist Movement's Ron Karenga to honor African heritage and culture.

Which US president declared Kwanzaa a national holiday?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Grant President Ulysses S. Grant was president when Christmas was made a national holiday in 1870.

The U. S. Congress and President Ulysses S. Grant made Christmas a U. S. Federal Holiday in 1870.
Technically there are no national holidays in the US, only federal holidays when federal government workers take the day off. Christmas was made a federal holiday on June 26, 1870 when U. S. Grant was President.

Why Kwanzaa celebrated?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Kwanzaa is is a weeklong celebration held in united states honoring universal African heritage and culture,observed from December 26 until January 1.So Kwanzaa is celebrated to show people that africans can celebrate their culture because of the improvement their culture has improved.

Why is there Kwanzaa and who celebrates it?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

The name "Kwanzaa" is supposed to be derived from theSwahiliphrasematunda ya kwanza

, meaning "first fruits of the harvest".The choice of Swahili, anEast Africanlanguage, was supposed to reflect its status as a symbol ofPan-Africanism, especially in the 1960s, despite the fact that East African nations (where the Swahili people come from) were not involved in theAtlantic slave tradethat brought African people to America

What does kwanza mean in English?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Kwanzaa is the name of an African-American holiday that began in 1966. According to the creator of the holiday, Karenga, the name "Kwanzaa" derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits of the harvest", although a more conventional translation would simply be "first fruits.

The word "kwanzaa" itself resembles Swahili but is not an actual Swahili word.

Why are there 7 candles on kwanza?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

The colors of Kwanzaa are black, red and green; black for the people, red for their struggle, and green for the future and hope that comes from their struggle. Therefore there is one black candle, three red and three green candles. These are the mishumaa saba (the seven candles) and they represent the seven principles.

The black candle represents the first principle Umoja (unity) and is placed in the center of the kinara.

The red candles represent the principles of Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujamaa (cooperative economics) and Kuumba (creativity) and are placed to the left of the black candle.

The green candles represent the principles of Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Nia (purpose) and Imani (faith) and are placed to the right of the black candle.

The black candle is lit first on the first day of the celebration. And the remaining candles are lit afterwards from left to right (not alternating) on the following days. This procedure is to indicate that the people come first, then the struggle and then the hope that comes from the struggle. Each day the candles are re-lit in order. Each day, emphasis should be put on the meaning of the principle and how you have and plan to exhibit that principle throughout the year.

In which countries is Kwanzaa celebrated?

User Avatar

Asked by Wiki User

Christmas is celebrated as a national holiday in countries with a Christian majority. The only exception to that rule is Japan, which celebrates the non-religious aspects of Christmas as a very public (but not national) holiday.

Hanukkah is celebrated as a national holiday only in Israel, and by Jews in all countries where they live.

Kwanzaa is a African American holiday, mainly celebrated in the US and Canada.

Ramadan is the Muslim month of fasting and atonement, observed by Muslims in all countries.