History and traditions of Kwanzaa

University of Minnesota professor Keith Mayes discusses the holiday tradition, Kwanzaa, a seven-day cultural holiday starting December 26 and ending January 1. Mayes, a professor of African American and African studies, explains that the African-American tradition has now been celebrated for more than 40 years and gives great details on the origin of the word Kwanzaa, which is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.

This video is part of the Expert Perspectives series at the University of Minnesota.

Duration : 0:2:58


[youtube xdO_Enf0RNE]

This entry was posted in african tradition and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

7 Responses to History and traditions of Kwanzaa

  1. a566626 says:

    I do find it odd …
    I do find it odd that the term African American is used. Why am I not called an Irish-English-German American? My English roots are one generation back and my German roots are 2 generations back…I have a much closer connection to those cultures than the majority black people have to Africa. Being African is not the same as being black…hello South African whites, Egyptians etc. country and continent of origin is not the same thing as race or ethnicity. Kwanzaa is a made up holiday…

  2. xxdonaldqxx says:

    Kwanzaa is nothing …
    Kwanzaa is nothing more than a ripoff of hanukkah.

  3. 2guysdesign says:

    Leave it up to a …
    Leave it up to a bunch of insecure black people to invent such a holiday. Get a grip its not even in the same league as Christmas or Hanuka. To stop the racism first the blacks must stop hating on white holidays. Thus the same ridiculous reason black people want to start afrocentric schools, get a grip black people of the world. In short quanza is as made up as festivus is on Seinfeld. Stop hating on white and euro people because its you people being the discusting racists now.

  4. LoRah612 says:

    I took a class from …
    I took a class from him. He knows his shit.

  5. bohrereric says:

    This guy has no …
    This guy has no clue about the history of Kwanzaa. It is COMPLETELY anti-christian, anti-white. Check out the numbskull who made it up in 1966…

  6. CSteven59 says:

    A black secular …
    A black secular tradition. The real question: Culture comes before Spirituality. Again, It’s always about being Black. Reconnect to the continent of Africa? What a line.

  7. WarVideo says:

    what a joke.
    what a joke.