Kwanzaa: What the Hell Is It?

Cristmas is tomorrow and most families will celebrate the day somebody deemed the day Jesus was born by waking up early to open gifts. Then on the 26th many of us will venture out to shopping malls to return the gifts we recieved that we don't want. Just ungrateful! But for some black families the 26th marks the first day of the African-American holiday called Kwanzaa. Of course most of us have heard of it but my question is: What the heck is it really? I actually had to google this info but here's what I found:

Kwanzaa is a non-religious African American holiday which celebrates family, community, and culture. It is celebrated for seven days: December 26 - January 1.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966. After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to bring African-Americans together as a community. He founded US, a cultural organization, and started to research African "first fruit" (harvest) celebrations. Karenga combined aspects of several different harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the Zulu, to form the basis of Kwanzaa
The seven principles, or Nguzo Saba are a set of ideals created by Dr. Maulana Karenga. Each day of Kwanzaa emphasizes a different principle.
Unity (Umoja) - (oo-MO-jah)
To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.

Self-determination (Kujichagulia) - (koo-gee-cha-goo-LEE-yah)
To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.

Collective Work and Responsibility (Ujima) - (oo-GEE-mah)
To build and maintain our community together and make our brother's and sister's problems our problems and to solve them together.

Cooperative Economics (Ujamaa)- (oo-JAH-mah)
To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit from them together.

Purpose (Nia) - (nee-YAH)
To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

Creativity (Kuumba)- (koo-OOM-bah)
To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Faith (Imani) - (ee-MAH-nee)
To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

More info here

Every night you're supposed to light a candle that represents the seven principles and you get a gift. No wait....that's Hanneukah, my bad.

But anyway maybe with the new hope that Barack will bring starting January 20 more people will pick up the tradition of Kwanzaa.