Kwanzaa is a pan-African celebration that occurs from December 26 to January 1, commemorating its 49th anniversary in 2015, and emphasizes African cultural values and community unity. The holiday's seven principles, known as nguzo saba, incorporate themes such as unity, self-determination, and creativity, serving as guiding values throughout the year. Celebrated globally by people of African descent, Kwanzaa fosters cultural awareness and connections to heritage amidst ongoing struggles for social justice.

1. KWANZAA 2015
by Murphy Browne
Toronto, Ontario
Canada
© Tuesday, December 15, 2015
It's beginning to look a lot like Kwanzaa! Yes African people (Don't care where
you come from) it is that time of year again! Time to polish the kinara (candle
holder,) buy some red, black and green mishumaa (candles,) roll out the mkeka
(mat,) and get ready to celebrate Kwanzaa! Remember to brush up on (practice)
your Kiswahili (the most widely spoken African language and the language of
Kwanzaa) pronunciation. It is the beginning of December so we have approximately
three weeks before the one week (December 26-January 1) celebration of Kwanzaa
starts.
In 2015 Kwanzaa celebrates 49 years of existence as it was celebrated for the
first time in December 1966. Kwanzaa is a Pan-African celebration and includes
the Pan-African colours (red, black and green) that were chosen by the
Honourable Marcus Mosiah Garvey (considered the father of the modern Pan-African
Movement) in 1920. The Pan-African flag is a tri-color flag consisting of three
equal horizontal bands of (from top down) red, black and green. On August 13,
1920 in Article 39 of the Declaration of Rights of the Negro Peoples of the
World, during its month-long convention at Madison Square Garden in New York
City, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
(UNIA-ACL) formally adopted the "red, black and green" flag. The African
countries Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, on attaining independence from European
colonization chose "red, black and green" as the colours of their national flags
while some other African countries have incorporated the colours into the
designs of their national flags.
As a Pan-African celebration Kwanzaa includes all Africans in celebrating
culture and acknowledging history. Africans from the continent and of the
Diaspora, of any religious or spiritual beliefs, or no religious belief,
celebrate Kwanzaa. Kwanzaa is celebrated in some Christian churches with
majority African American congregations because the nguzo saba (seven
principles) resonate with African Americans. African American professor Dr.
Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga who instituted the celebration of Kwanzaa has
explained that: "Kwanzaa is a synthesis of both the cultural values and practice
of Africans on the Continent and in the United States with strict attention to
cultural authenticity and values for a meaningful, principled, and productive
life.” Kwanzaa was established in the USA and very soon after was celebrated in
Canada. It is said that Kwanzaa is also celebrated in Brazil, the Caribbean,
Great Britain, France, Senegal and other West African countries. I celebrated
Kwanzaa in Italy in 2007, in Guyana in 2011 and 2012. It is possible that
Kwanzaa is celebrated in many places that have so far not been listed. In the
1997 published book ”Kwanzaa, A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture"
Dr. Karenga wrote: ”Kwanzaa is celebrated by millions of people of African
descent throughout the world African community. As a cultural holiday, it is
practiced by Africans from all religious traditions, all classes, all ages and
generations, and all political persuasions on the common ground of their
Africanness in all its historical and current diversity and unity.”
Most Africans in the Diaspora do not speak an African language because during
the four hundred years European enslavement of our ancestors, speaking an
African language or retaining an African name was a possible death sentence. One
of the most poignant and heartbreaking scenes from the miniseries ”Roots” (based
on Alex Haley”s 1976 published novel ”Roots: The Saga of an American Family”) is
the scene where enslaved African Kunta Kinte is almost beaten to death
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CpJpGF8lS8) because he resisted accepting the
name ”Toby.” One of the results of the brutality and inhumanity of slavery was
the severing of the connection between Africans in the Diaspora and our
Africanness. Learning even a few words of an African language can be empowering
and celebrating Kwanzaa is an opportunity to do so.

2. Kiswahili words are used to identify the objects used during the Kwanzaa
celebration as well as the seven principles (nguzo saba.) They are Umoja
(Unity); Kujichagulia (Self-Determination); Ujima (Collective Work and
Responsibility); Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics); Nia (Purpose); Kuumba
(Creativity) and Imani (Faith.) Dr. Karenga said of the nguzo saba: “They are
all dedicated to honoring the teachings of our ancestors in the Odu Ifa, that
the fundamental mission and meaning of human life is “to bring good into the
world and not let any good be lost.“ Umoja is put first because without unity we
cannot even seriously begin the project. And Imani is placed last because
without faith we can't sustain it. But without practice of all the principles,
we cannot really accomplish it.“ The objects used to decorate the Kwanzaa table
includes the mkeka (mat,) kinara (candle holder,) mishumaa saba (seven candles,)
mazao (fruits and vegetables,) vibunzi/muhindi (ear of corn,) kikombe cha umoja
(unity cup) and zawadi (gifts.) The kinara is placed on the mkeka and the
mishumaa saba are placed in the kinara with the black in the middle, the three
red to the left of the black and the three green to the right of the black. The
black candle is lit on December 26 the first day of Kwanzaa, for Umoja, the red
candle closest to the black is lit on December 27, for Kujichagulia, the green
candle closest to the black candle is lit on December 28 for Ujima. The second
red candle is lit on December 29 for Ujamaa, the second green candle is lit on
December 30 for Nia. This pattern of alternating red and green continues until
January 1 when the last green candle is lit for Imani. The zawadi are
Africentric and educational and may include handmade gifts or books about
African history or culture.
Although Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days there are many Kwanzaa celebrants
who use the Nguzo Saba (seven principles) as guiding principles throughout the
year. This is encouraged by Dr. Karenga who said: “It is important to note that
the Nguzo Saba are used as value orientation and cultural grounding in a vast
number of programs throughout the world African community. These range from
independent schools, rites of passage programs, youth development and support
programs, public school educational programs, and religious institutional
cultural programs to various economic and political initiatives and structures.
Thus, I'm confident that African people will continue to see their value,
embrace their practice and pass on these values and the culture in which they
are rooted as a legacy which expresses and encourages the best of what it means
to be African and human in the fullest sense.“
In the 1997 published “Kwanzaa: The Emergence of an African-American Holiday“
African Puerto Rican professor Ysamur Flores Pena quoted Dr. Karenga on Kanzaaa:
“It reaffirms our commitment to the African culture and gives us a time to come
together, as was done by the ancestors of old. We measure ourselves, the
authenticity of our lives, by how rooted we are in our tradition. Kwanzaa is a
celebration of the good, celebration of the good of our lives, the good of our
history, the good of our culture, celebration of the good of life, the good of
love in each other, building with each other, the good of history marching
towards the ultimate goal of full human freedom“
The celebration of Kwanzaa began 49 years ago as an effort “to create, recreate
and circulate African culture as an aid to building community, enriching Black
consciousness, and reaffirming the value of cultural grounding for life and
struggle.“ The struggle continues as we see almost everyday another video of
African American men, women and children brutalized and killed by police. In
Canada the carding which targets an inordinate amount of African Canadians
continues. Kwanzaa is one of times during the year when we can gather, exhale
and reaffirm our humanity. Celebrate Kwanzaa December 26 to January 1. Heri za
Kwanzaa! Kwanzaa yenu iwe na heri!
by Murphy Browne
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

3. © Tuesday, December 15, 2015