The holiday season continues this week with the African-American spiritual holiday Kwanzaa. From December 26th to January 1st, millions of people worldwide will observe the Pan-African tradition created by California University professor Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966. Based on the cultural principles of a theory called Kawaida, Dr. Karenga created the concept of Kwanzaa to honor African-American heritage and culture. Karenga says the holiday is to help black families relate to the past in order to understand the present and deal with the future. The word Kwanzaa is Swahili for harvest’s first fruits. The holiday observes principles, practices, and symbols which are geared to the social and spiritual needs of African-Americans.
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