Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is wishing all who celebrate a happy first day of Kwanzaa.
She posted a video on Instagram commemorating the holiday that honors African American and Pan-African culture and talked about celebrating the holiday growing up. Every year, our family and our extended family, we would gather around, across multiple generations, and we d tell stories, she said. We d light the candles, and of course afterward, have a beautiful meal.
Kwanzaa 2020: Quotes, Prayers, Blessings, Greetings To Celebrate African-American Holiday
12/25/20 AT 3:30 PM
Each year, Kwanzaa is celebrated from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1 as a reinforcement of seven basic values of African culture. The holiday offers the opportunity of strengthening traditions and a sense of community among African Americans and Africans throughout the world.
Those Seven Principles, also known as, Nguzo Saba were developed by Dr. Karenga, according to Disciples Home Missions.
The word Kwanzaa is taken from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza,” translates to “first fruits.”
The seven-day celebration focuses on Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).
Dec. 26 marks the beginning of Kwanzaa, the seven-night celebration of African American and Pan-African culture. The holiday has grown to be celebrated by millions across the world, strengthening roots to both African heritage and the African community as a whole.
Here s what you need to know about Kwanzaa:
What are the origins of the holiday?
Dr. Maulana Karenga greets people during the First Day of Issuance dedication ceremony for the U.S. Postal Service s first-ever Kwanzaa stamp, in Los Angeles, Oct. 22, 1997.
Reed Saxon/AP
Dr. Maulana Karenga, an influential professor of Africana studies at California State University, Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the Black Freedom Movement.