Rigby5
Diamond Member
- Apr 23, 2017
- 31,994
- 10,783
No.
Kwanzaa is a weeklong celebration held in the United States that honors African heritage in African-American culture. Created in response to the Watts Riots in Los Angeles in 1965 as a way to bring African-Americans together as a community.
Juneteenth recognizes the end of slavery in America.
Same basic thing. They're all connected and related.
No, the end of slavery is about remembering the evils of capitalism and feudalism.
The start of Kwanzaa is about remembering the good point of tribal social life.
{...
American Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 during the aftermath of the Watts riots[2] as a specifically African-American holiday.[3][4] Karenga said his goal was to "give blacks an alternative to the existing holiday of Christmas and give blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society."[5] For Karenga, a major figure in the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s, the creation of such holidays also underscored the essential premise that "you must have a cultural revolution before the violent revolution. The cultural revolution gives identity, purpose, and direction."[6]
According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits".[7] First fruits festivals exist in Southern Africa, celebrated in December/January with the southern solstice, and Karenga was partly inspired by an account he read of the Zulu festival Umkhosi Wokweshwama.[8] It was decided to spell the holiday's name with an additional "a" so that it would have a symbolic seven letters.[9]
During the early years of Kwanzaa, Karenga said it was meant to be an alternative to Christmas. He believed Jesus was psychotic and Christianity was a "White" religion that Black people should shun.[10] As Kwanzaa gained mainstream adherents, Karenga altered his position so practicing Christians would not be alienated, stating in the 1997 book Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community, and Culture that "Kwanzaa was not created to give people an alternative to their own religion or religious holiday."[11] Many African Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa do so in addition to observing Christmas.[12]
After its initial creation in California, Kwanzaa spread outside the United States.[13]
...}