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Kwanzaa, a week of Pan-African American celebration, begins

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The word 'kwanzaa' is Swahili and means “first fruits" (Stock image: CHCH).
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The day after Christmas — Dec. 26 or Boxing Day to many — is also an important day for Pan-African American culture, with the beginning of the week-long celebration of Kwanzaa.

It began in 1966 in the United States as a tribute to community and family values and has since been adopted around the world, including in Canada in the early 1990s. It is not a religious holiday.

The word kwanzaa is Swahili and means “first fruits,” and its final feast on Dec. 31 is called ‘karamu.’

Celebrants often decorate their homes in the colours of the Pan-African flag: red, black and green.

Every day during Kwanzaa a candle-holder called a ‘kinara’ is lit. It holds seven candles, three red and three green and a single black candle in the centre, each representing a different value of African culture.

On Jan. 1, generally the last day of Kwanzaa, families exchange gifts, known as ‘zawadi’.

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