BrainStuff Classics: How Does Kwanzaa Work?

Kwanzaa is a relatively new holiday celebrating Pan-African culture, and the unity, creativity, and determination of its peoples. Learn the basics about Kwanzaa in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-other/kwanzaa.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.
Hi brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum here with a classic episode
from our podcasts archives. If you're listening on the day
that we published this one, it is the first day
of Quanza, so in the spirit of celebration and education,
we wanted to share this episode about how the holiday works. Hey,

(00:25):
brain Stuff, Lauren Vogebam Here. In late December, there's a
holiday season that includes four different people around the world, Christmas, Uele,
the Solstice, Hanka, and the Gregorian New Year. These holidays
are joyful celebrations in which families and friends come together
to share food and gifts. Quanza is another such holiday,

(00:47):
running from December twenty six through January one, during which
some people of African descent gather with loved ones to
reaffirm the bonds of family and culture as well as
share food and exchange gifts. And It's a relatively new holiday,
though its roots trace back to ancient African harvest celebrations.
The name Quanza comes from the Swahili phrase mattunda yakwanza,

(01:08):
which means first fruits. Many of the first fruit celebrations
around parts of Africa were also seven days long. Aquanza
is a Pan African holiday, meaning that it's meant to
unite people of African descent wherever they live throughout the
continent and around the world. Unlike Christmas and Hanukah, which

(01:28):
are technically religious holidays, though are sometimes celebrated secularly, the
Quanza is a cultural holiday. Many people who celebrate it
also celebrate Christmas or other December holidays. Over it's seven days,
celebrants honor family, community, culture, and the bonds that tie
them together as a people. They also remember their heritage,

(01:48):
give thanks for the good things that they have, and
rejoice in the goodness of life. The number seven is
an important theme of Quanza. The seven days each represent
one of the holiday is seven guiding principles. There are
seven basic symbols used in the Quanza ceremony, one of
which consists of seven candles, and each symbol ties into

(02:09):
one or more of those guiding principles. Quanza was introduced
in nineteen sixty six by Dr. Mal Lana Karenga, a
professor in and chair of the Department of Black Studies
at California State University and a former civil rights activist.
He conceived a Quanza during this time when the Civil
Rights Act of nineteen sixty four was still new and

(02:31):
the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were still years off. In
this time of great struggle for Black Americans to gain
equal rights, let alone see those rights respected, Dr Karengo
wanted Kwanza to be a means to help them connect
with African values and traditions and to serve as a
bond to unify Black Americans as a community and as

(02:52):
a people. He chose the dates December twenty six through
January one to coincide with the Judeo Christian holiday season,
which is already a time of celebration, and he chose
a name that comes from the Swahili language, because Swahili
spoken by many different African peoples. There is a story
about how the Swahili word spelled k w a n

(03:15):
z a gained an extra a at the end to
designate the holiday. The story goes that during one of
the first Quansa celebrations, there was a children's pageant. Each
of six children held up one of the letters of
the word Quanza, but a seventh child, with no letter
to hold, was left in tears. Someone at the event

(03:35):
gave the child an extra a and the holiday was
thus renamed k w A n z A A. Dr
Karenga developed the seven principles of Quanza based on the
ideals of those first fruit harvests. They might be summarized
as unity, joining together as a family, community and race.

(03:56):
Self determination that is responsibility for one's own future, a
collective work and responsibility or building the community together and
solving any problems as a group. Cooperative economics meaning that
the community builds and profits from its own businesses. Purpose
or the goal of working together to build community and
further the African culture. Creativity that is, using new ideas

(04:20):
to create a more beautiful and successful community. And faith
meaning honoring African ancestors, traditions, and leaders, and celebrating past
triumphs over adversity. Each day of Quanza focuses on one
of the seven principles. Participants may tell a story or
sing a song related to that principle, or the group

(04:41):
may discuss them together or both. The seven principles are
also illustrated during the festivities by the seven symbols. First,
there's the mat, which is usually made of straw, but
can also be made of fabric or paper upon which
all of the other Quansa symbols are placed. The mat
represents the foundation of African traditions and history. Then there's

(05:04):
the crops or fruits and vegetables, which represent traditional harvest
celebrations and show respect for the people who labored to
grow them. There's also the corn, which represents children and
the promise of their future. One ear of corn is
set out for each child in the family. In a
family without children, and ears set out symbolically to represent

(05:24):
the children of the community. Next, there's the candle holder,
which represents the original stock from which all African ancestors came.
It holds the seven candles, each of which represents one
of the seven principles. They're lit starting with just the
center candle on the first day, usually by the youngest
child present, with one additional candle lit each day, culminating

(05:46):
in all seven being lit together on the final day.
And then there's the Unity cup, which symbolizes the first
principle of Quanza, the unity of family and of the
African people. The cup is used to pour the libation water, juice,
or wine for family and friends. And then there are
the gifts, which represent the labors of the parents and

(06:07):
the rewards of their children. Gifts are given to educate
and enrich. They may include a book, a piece of art,
or an educational toy. At least one of the gifts
is usually a symbol of heritage. They may be given
out one per day or all exchanged on the last
day of celebration, the Quansa feast is held on the
evening of December thirty one. The feast isn't just about food.

(06:30):
It's also a time to sing, pray, play music, perform
speeches or poetry, dance, and otherwise celebrate Black and African
histories and cultures. January one, the final day of Quanza,
is a time for reflection, both individually and as a group.
Participants may ask themselves who am I am I really?

(06:50):
Who I say I am? And am I all I
ought to be? The final candle is lit, and then
all the candles are extinguished, signaling the end of the holiday.
Those candles are in red, green, and black. The colors
were put forth by Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican born activist, publisher, journalist,
and black nationalist who worked during the first few decades

(07:12):
of the twentieth century. He designed the pan African flag
with these colors, Black stands for the African people, red
represents their struggle or blood, and green is a symbol
of their future. Kwanza decorations and outfits are often made
in the holidays symbolic colors, so of course this is
all just a summary. As with every holiday, there are

(07:34):
as many celebrations of Kwanza as there are celebrants. If
you are celebrating right now, we hope that you're having
a bright one. Today's episode is based on the article
how Kwanza Works on how staff works dot com, written
by Stephanie Watson. Brain Stuff It's production of Our Heart
Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com, and it's

(07:55):
produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my Heart Radio,
visit the Heart Radio, up Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows. H