This Day in History: 26 December 2019
26 December 1966
53 years ago, today, the first ever Kwanzaa was celebrated in Los Angeles, California, under the instructions of Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University.Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday, with African origins, created by Maulana to celebrate African American families, cultures and communities. In 1965, a riot broke out in Watts, a mainly black neighbourhood in Los Angeles, which resulted in 34 deaths and 1,000 injuries. Maulana was disturbed by the ruins and tried to find a way to help overcome the despair felt from the riot. He founded Us, a black cultural organisation, and started to look to Africa for practises and concepts to empower the US' African communities. From his search, he was inspired by Africa's harvest celebrations, and decided to create a nonreligious holiday to emphasise the importance of family and community, while at the same time giving fellow African Americans a chance to explore their cultural identities, and thus, Kwanzaa was born.
Kwanzaa was designed to incorporate different harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and the Zulu, and the name means 'first fruits' in Swahili. Families celebrateKwanzaa in their own, unique ways, but traditional celebrations include songs, dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry and meals. On each of the seven nights, the family gathers, and a child lights one of the candles. Afterwards, one of the seven principles of the Nguzo Saba is discussed, and these include values of the African culture that contribute to the building of community among African Americans. The values include unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, economic cooperation, purpose, creativity, and faith. Kwanzaa is celebrated by millions of Africans across the United States, and also the world.
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