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Kwanzaa and Juneteenth are two very important celebrations for African American culture. They are two of the most popular celebrations relating to the subject. They do differ however, Kwanzaa is based on African heritage and resurrecting it for one week out of the year and Juneteenth is to celebrate the delayed end to slavery in Texas. Both of these celebrations are not only celebrated by African Americans but by all ethnicities.
Kwanzaa is a holiday during the Christmas season to celebrate the African culture. Although it was created for blacks as an alternative to the Christmas holiday, it is now celebrated by all ethnicities. The creator of Kwanzaa was Ron Everett, better known as Maulana Karenga. Maulana has spent his whole life devoted to the betterment of African Americans. He spent a large amount of time in college. In the late 1950’s he attended the Los Angeles City College and later transferred to the University of California Los Angeles and received his masters degree in African American studies and political sciences. He later received his first PhD in 1976 from United States International University and his second in 1994 from the University of Southern California. In 1996 he created the black nationalist United Slaves Organization. With this educational back round and experience in the advancement of African Americans, he is obviously qualified to create world wide holiday.
Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means first fruits of harvest. The first Kwanzaa was celebrated December 26, 1966 through January 1, 1967. This was the week that has been the designated timeframe for Kwanzaa ever since. Each day has its own theme known as the “Seven Principles of Kwanzaa” also known as Nguzo Saba. All the words and phrases associated with Kwanzaa are from the Swahili language which is the dominate African language. One Swahili phrase Kwanzaa participants use to greet each other is “Habari gani” which translates to...