Monday, December 29, 2003

It's Kwanzaa... So?

You thought I was joking. Everything else, yes. However, Kwanzaa sucks. No offense to anyone who celebrates it, but I just don't see the point. I know what Kwanzaa sounds like. It sounds like some kind of old African ceremonial holiday, and it's only recently started getting TV specials. So you ask one of your black friends what the story behind Kwanzaa is, but he/she doesn't celebrate it. You ask every black person you know, and even do research on African ceremonies and holidays. Nothing, right? Can't find any info, or even anybody who celebrates it? There's a reason. It's a made-up holiday. Seriously. The holiday was created by and celebrated by a handful of black people in the mid-1960s. Their intentions were good. Millions of black people around the world (most considered to be of African origin) had little link to them all together. Thus one created decided that during the 7-day period between Christmas and New Years (December 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31) should be observed for us all to be thankful and unite based on our similar origins. Thus Kwanzaa (which translates to something along the lines of "first fruits" in Swahili) was born. It's a holiday based on culture, rather than religion. That way, no matter what religion you were, any black person could celebrate Kwanzaa in any part of the world. It looks really good on paper, but let's be real. The intent was good, but this holiday is a joke amongst many African-Americans. If you're a black person in America whose family observes Kwanzaa, chances are you're the only family you know that celebrates it. If you know somebody who celebrates Kwanzaa, chances are that's the only person you know who does. It's not that we have anything against it. It's just that most of us have parents older than the holiday, or are older than the holiday ourselves. Hell, some of us don't even know about it. I asked my mom if she knew anything about Kwanzaa last year-- she'd never heard of it. Ever see The Proud Family Kwanzaa Special episode? For the first couple of nights, Oscar stared at the family observing Kwanzaa like they were crazy. Given, more than a handful of people observe the 7 nights of Kwanzaa. In fact, 28 million black people observe it worldwide. 28 million people is a lot, when looked at by itself. However, that's 28 million worldwide. There are 32 million black people in the United States alone. And we're only the second largest minority around here. And let's not forget about the lack of originality. This holiday was created a few decades ago, not centuries. You'd think they'd be able to come up with something more creative than lighting a candle every night for a week. And placing it between Christmas and New Year? Of all times of the year to make up a holiday, did it really have to be shoved in there right before the New Year, during and after Christmas, and the week after Channukah? Not that I don't appreciate seeing all of my Rugrats holiday specials on the same day (Suzie has a Kwanzaa special, you know), but did December really need to be packed with 7 more days of families preparing meals and obsessively tedious rituals? It almost seems envious. "They have holidays this month. Let's make up our own holiday directly in the middle of theirs!" In case you didn't get that, I don't observe Kwanzaa. I think it was a good idea, but making up a holiday out of the blue isn't exactly easy. I'm sure no one thought it would be. Actually, Kwanzaa is getting bigger and observed by more people every year. That doesn't mean I'm going to get involved. Not on my own. Maybe I'm a little closed-minded, I don't know. But even if I tried, I couldn't push my family to observing Kwanzaa. Like I said, most of us have parents older than the holiday itself. And observing Kwanzaa by myself would completely defeat the purpose of observing it. And no, I don't know anybody who observes Kwanzaa. No one. However, if you're of African origin (or just curious), and you're interested in a more positive description of Kwanzaa, feel free to check out the links below. You might actually get into it and find yourself sipping from the Unity Cup this time next year. The Official Kwanzaa Website (Information and Factoids) | Kids Domain - Kwanzaa Time (Holiday-Themed Kids Games) Much Umoja

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