Kwanzaa, the Pan African Holiday

It's been about 45 years since the idea of Kwanzaa started taking root in the U.S. as a singularly African winter celebration for Black Americans to celebrate African history and culture. 

The idea has held pretty well, with Kwanzaa celebrations around Union and Essex Counties (Plainfield  and ) and further afield. Although many community Kwanzaa events took place earlier this month, today is actually the first day of Kwanzaa, which runs 7 days through Jan. 1.

The name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits of the harvest." The celebration echoes Christmas and Hanukkah in some ways in that it involves lighting candles over a series of nights, includes gift-giving and culminates in a feast.

But Kwanzaa's symbols are uniquely African. And the seven principles of Kwanzaa belong to Kwanzaa alone; while some principles — such as "unity" and "faith" seem universal — others are very particular to this celebration and to the community it reflects and serves. Those principles (one for each day of Kwanzaa) are:

• Umoja (Unity)
• Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
• Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility)
• Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) — a principle around building and maintaining the businesses that support African-American neighborhoods
• Nia (Purpose)
• Kuumba (Creativity)
• Imani (Faith)

Read more about Kwanzaa on the Official Kwanzaa Website.