HAPPY KWANZAA:

Learn about Kwanzaa, it's worth celebrating (Akilah Monifa, 12/24/06, Contra Costa Times)

Kwanzaa's seven principles -- of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith -- are ones that many people, irrespective of background, can appreciate.

Millions of people, regardless of race or religion, now celebrate Kwanzaa worldwide. But even as our communities become increasingly multicultural and cross-cultural, acceptance has diminished for those who don't follow mainstream traditions around this time of year.

In the age of terror, we would all benefit to learn more about one another, and to embody Kwanzaa's ideals of happiness, unity and peace.

Kwanzaa: 40 years of celebrating values (David Mannweiler, 12/25/06, The Indianapolis Star)

For years, Keesha Dixon celebrated Christmas with fervor.

She had five Christmas trees. Lights strung everywhere. Empty boxes wrapped as presents under the trees.

"I told my husband, 'Enough. We're not doing this anymore,' " says Dixon, 53, executive director of the Asante Children's Theatre in Indianapolis. "I realized I had gone too far."

Dixon wanted something that would keep the spiritual enrichments of the season around all year — without the commercialization.

She found the answer in Kwanzaa, a nonsectarian holiday celebrating family, community and African culture.

She replaced her trees with a Kwanzaa display on a piece of colorful African fabric, draped over her living-room hope chest. On top of the cloth, she placed a wooden candelabra her husband made to hold seven candles — three red, three green and one black. She added an ear of miniature corn, family photos and a unity cup, which is used for a libation ritual.

The seven candles represent the seven Kwanzaa principles of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. A candle is lit each day or night during Kwanzaa, which annually runs Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, and the principle it represents is discussed with family members and friends who gather for a celebration.

"My display stays up 365 [days]," Dixon says. "Every time I pass it, I am reminded of the principles each candle stands for. I want to stay focused on those principles."

More cultural than religious, Kwanzaa rooted in tradition (Gwenda Anthony, 12/24/06, Gannett News Service)

Tradition is the key word that marks Kwanzaa as a celebration of family, community and culture, says Tulivu Jadi, assistant director at the African American Cultural Center in Los Angeles, where Kwanzaa had its origins.

"It is important to remember that Kwanzaa is not a trend but a tradition that is rooted in more substantive, longer-lasting practices," Jadi says.

Kwanzaa grew out of the 1965 Watts riots and an organization founded Sept. 7 of that year by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of black studies at California State University in Long Beach.

Kwanzaa is Right Around the Corner (CNS, 12/25/06)

The seven-day festival of Kwanzaa begins tomorrow, marking its 40th anniversary amid growing official acceptance and criticism of its authenticity and value.

Maulana Karenga, a professor in Cal State Long Beach's Department of Black Studies, created Kwanzaa in 1966 in an attempt to reaffirm and restore blacks' ties to African culture, reaffirm and reinforce bonds among blacks and to introduce and reinforce the ''Nguzo Saba,'' the Seven Principles, according to the Official Kwanzaa Web Site, www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.

The Seven Principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith.

During the week, a candelabrum called a ''kinara'' is lit, and ears of corn representing each child in the family are placed on a traditional straw mat.

African foods such as millet, spiced pepper balls and rice are often served. Some people fast during the holiday, and a feast is often held on the holiday's final night.

A flag with three bars -- red for the struggle for freedom, black for unity and green for the future -- is sometimes displayed during the holiday.

Kwanzaa is based on the theory of Kawaida, which espouses that social revolutionary change for black America can be achieved by exposing blacks to their cultural heritage.

Kwanzaa not catching on despite black population (Associated Press, 12/25/06)

It has been four decades since Kwanzaa was created as an African-American celebration of family and community, but in that time it has not resonated widely in South Carolina, a state where one-third of the population is black.

"I personally don't know a single person who celebrates the holiday," said Marcus Cox, founding director of the African-American Studies Program at The Citadel. [...]

Cox said he and many other blacks respect the holiday, but there are barriers to its broader acceptance.

One of them is the timing of Kwanzaa, which is celebrated from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.

"Christmas is a religious holiday. And most African-Americans are Christians," Cox said.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 25, 2006 4:03 PM