Kwanzaa: A celebration of African ancestry and culture

“I grew up celebrating Kwanzaa … so each day we would have a principle that we’d celebrate – and again, intergenerational – the families would get together. There would be a component that was about food, that was about music, but the elders would tell stories about what that principle was. They could tell you “Kujichagulia: self-determination,” and about what that principle in their life or in the history of the family meant, right. To the youngest that would be “What does self-determination mean to you?”– Vice President Kamala HarrisDuring Kwanzaa, everyone sits at the feet of the elder as he or she offers teachings and words of wisdom. – Photo courtesy of RDNE/PexelsKwanzaa Fast Facts(CNN) – Here’s a look at Kwanzaa, an African American holiday celebrated each year from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.Kwanzaa is based on traditional African harvest festivals. Also spelled K•w•a•n•z•a.Maulana Karenga, a professor of Pan-African studies at California State University at Long Beach, created the holiday in 1966 to be a nonreligious celebration of family and social values.The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili. Karenga chose Swahili as the language of the festivities because it...