The value of 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 Africans were reasserting our self-identity and self-determination breaking from an oppressive Eurocentric imperialist worldview and culture. It was designed to create and build an appreciation for unity, traditional African values, empowerment, and community.
Since its creation in the US, Kwanzaa has spread around the world and is now accepted and celebrated as an established holiday. 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 African, while others resisted learning about it, learning the words, or they poo-pooed the principles behind it.
Kwanzaa has value despite its detractors. First, all holidays are “made up!” Each and every holiday is the creation of the ethnic groups, institutions, and culture that invented them for their particular reasons to meet their specific needs. Christmas or the Christ Mass is a made-up holiday. It was invented by the founders of the Catholic Church to reinforce their story about the birth of Jesus. The “Church Fathers” decreed that Jesus’ birth was on December 25th. The fact is, December 25th coincides with the Winter Solstice, which was also the stated time of the births of other avatars and savior gods, which predated Christianity.
All the holidays we celebrate in this country are made up. The Fourth of July is a made-up holiday as are: Hanukkah, Easter, Labor Day, Carnival, Bastille Day, Mardi Gras, and Juneteenth. Yet we don’t question them, or their significance, do we? Many are based upon myths or other people’s culture, yet we still celebrate them without question.
Kwanzaa was created and based upon African and indigenous traditions. It has no religious significance. It is not a religious holiday, nor was it designed to compete with Hanukkah or Christmas. Yes, Kwanzaa is African-inspired and Black, so what? It was created at a time when conscious liberation-minded Blacks were attempting to assert our agency, encourage empowerment, establish an identity free from the disrespect white America heaped upon us and our own internalized self-hatred. What’s wrong with focusing on Blackness, Black empowerment, and unity? What’s inappropriate about wanting a wholesome community, togetherness, and cohesion?
Kwanzaa is not a threat to your pastor, your doctrines, and dogma if you are a Christian. Kwanzaa is no threat to your Imam and Koran’s teachings if you are a Muslim or any other religion, for that matter.
As far as learning new words is concerned, we do it all the time! Black people are always making up slang words or changing the meaning of English words. It’s part of our rhythm, creative swag, and hipness. Our slang almost always eventually becomes part of the American vocabulary and lexicon.
We should be open-minded and willing to learn about our past, synthesize what we’ve learned, and apply it for the betterment of our lives. This is the essence of wisdom, what our African ancestors called Sankofa, which is an Akan word that means to go back and fetch. Dr. Karenga was encouraging us to look back, to learn about our history, and apply it to our daily lives.
Kwanzaa is a celebration based upon ancient traditions. The word Kwanzaa means “first fruits” harkening to a time when African people were close to the land, planting, harvesting, raising animals, and being thankful for nature’s bounty. Since most of us are urban dwellers in a post-industrial society, we don’t know much about agriculture or the deep significance of living and working close to nature.
Nevertheless, we need to learn about nature, the cycles of the sun, moon, and stars because they are part of our legacy and traditions.
Another good thing about Kwanzaa is, it’s not a materialistic celebration; you won’t go into debt celebrating Kwanzaa. Kuumba is one of the seven principles which means creativity; we are encouraged to use our imaginations to make gifts rather than going to the store and buying.
We are becoming too materialistic, too obsessed with gizmos and gadgets to our own detriment. We are becoming too detached from ourselves and our families. Technology is minimizing face-to-face, soul to soul interaction to the point we think pushing a button to like something means we’ve taken concrete action. We think joining a social network means we have friends but the fact of the matter is, we don’t interact with these people on meaningful levels.
Kwanzaa is about gathering together, it encourages being socially engaged and interactive with family, friends, and the community, sharing common values (the seven principles) and a vision for us and our community. This alone should make it more attractive and valuable. Happy Kwanzaa!