Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture
by Dr. Maulana Karenga, The Official Kwanzaa Website


Why was Kwanzaa created?

Kwanzaa was created:

--To reaffirm the communitarian vision and values of African culture and to contribute to its restoration among African peoples in the Diaspora, beginning with Africans in America and expanding to include the world African community.
--To introduce and reinforce the Nguzo Saba, the Seven Principles and through this, introduce and reaffirm communitarian values and practices which strengthen and celebrate family, community and culture. These seven communitarian African values are: Umoja (Unity), Kuji-chagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith).
--To serve as a regular communal celebration which reaffirmed and reinforced the bonds between us as a people in the U.S., in the Diaspora and on the African continent, in a word, as a world African community. It was designed to unite and to strengthen African communities.
--As an act of cultural self-determination, as a self-conscious statement of our own unique cultural truth as an African people. That is to say, it is an important way and expression of being African in a multicultural context.


Where does the word "Kwanzaa" come from?

The word "Kwanzaa" comes from the phrase, "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first-fruits." Kwanzaa's extra "a" evolved as a result of a particular history of the Organization Us. It was done as an expression of African values in order to inspire the creativity of our children. In the early days of Us, there were seven children who each wanted to represent a letter of Kwanzaa. Since kwanza (first) has only six letters, we added an extra "a" to make it seven, thus creating "Kwanzaa."


Why is Kwanzaa a seven-day holiday?

Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday for two reasons:

--In terms of authenticity, Kwanzaa is modeled on first-fruits celebrations in ancient Africa, especially on Southern African first-fruits celebrations like Umkhost of Zululand which has seven days.
--The central reason for Kwanzaa's being seven days is to stress the Nguzo Saba and through this introduce and reaffirm communitarian values and practices which strengthen and celebrate family, community, and culture.


Why has Kwanzaa grown among African people?

Kwanzaa grows among African people because:

--It speaks to our need and appreciation for its cultural vision and life- affirming values, values which celebrate and reinforce family, community, and culture.
--It represents an important way Africans speak our own special cultural truth in a multicultural world.
--It reaffirms the most ancient tradition in the world, the African tradition, which lays claim to the first religious, ethical and scientific texts, and the introduction of the basic disciplines of human knowledge in the Nile Valley.
--It reinforces our rootedness in our own culture in a rich and meaningful way.
--It brings us together from all countries, all religious traditions, all classes, all ages and generations, and all political persuasions on the common ground of our Africanness in all its historical and current diversity and unity.

Dr. Maulana Karenga
The Creator of Kwanzaa
Chair, The Organization Us
Chair, The National Association of Kawaida Organizations (NAKO)