A Day In The Life Of A Cat

Holiday Traditions: part 3

Today's Topic: Kwanzaa

A non-religious holiday, Kwanzaa celebrates African-American heritage, pride, community, family, and culture. The seven-day festival commences the day after Christmas and concludes on New Year's Day.

Inspired by the civil rights struggles of the 1960's and based on ancient African celebrations, Kwanzaa is becoming more popular every year. More than 20 million people celebrate in the United States, Canada, England, the Carribean and Africa.

Kwanzaa's ancient roots lie in African first-fruit harvest celebrations, from which it takes its name. The word Kwanzaa is derived from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," which means "first fruits." Kwanzaa is an important time of the year for friends and family to pass on generations of good food and recipes that pay tribute to African-American heritage. These folks spend their seven-day festivities preparing for the final feast, or "karumu," on December 31.

One major ritual of Kwanzaa is lighting a candle on each day its seven days. The candles, called "mishumaa," are the colors of the Black Liberation Flag; there are three red candles, three green and one black.

After the candle lighting, they might drink from a unity cup in a toast to their ancestors with the exclamation, "Harambee!" which means "let's all pull together."

The candles, in a candelabra called a "kinara," and the unity cup sit atop a straw mat, the "mkeka," that also holds fresh fruit to represent African harvest festivals. The mkeka is central to Kwanzaa's high feast on December 31.

Kwanzaa also includes gift-giving, generally to children. They might receive three traditional gifts: a book to further a goal or highlight black achievement, a heritage symbol, and a toy or other present. The gifts are displayed on the mkeka and given on January 1.

Try these traditional Kwanzaa recipes: