It’s always a pleasure to share one of my favorite holiday traditions: Kwanzaa!
I’m a member of St. Nicholas Church at St. John XXIII Parish in Evanston, and member of a group called Evanston Area Black Catholics, which hosts an annual Kwanzaa celebration at St. Nick’s that is the only Kwanzaa Mass on the North Shore.
Now in its 23rd year, St. Nick’s Kwanzaa Mass is a beautiful celebration of family and Black heritage, taking place this year at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31. All are welcome!
Kwanzaa, as many know, is a celebration of family and culture held just after
Christmas, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 – instituted in 1966 by educator, activist and author Maulana Karenga, currently Professor and Chair of the Department of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach.
Karenga sought to establish an opportunity for Black people across the diaspora to celebrate ourselves and our history, via the first African American and pan-African holiday.
Inspired by continental Africa’s harvest traditions, Kwanzaa takes its name from the Swahili phrase, “matunda ya kwanza,” or “first fruits of the harvest,” and over the decades, the holiday has taken root to be celebrated by communities across the U.S., Africa and the Caribbean.
At St. Nick’s, our Mass celebrates Kwanzaa in conjunction with the celebration of the Holy Family: Mary, Joseph and Jesus. It is, for Evanston Area Black Catholics, acknowledgement of the rich cultural contributions of African Americans in the Catholic Church, and call to communal faith, love and unity.
Our celebration is blessed annually by the participation of the choir of one of Chicago’s few remaining traditionally Black Catholic churches, Holy Angels. And they raise the rafters.
Based on African traditions and the seven principles of African heritage known as Nguzo Saba, each day of Kwanzaa reinforces its principles.
- Day 1: Umoja (Unity).
- Day 2: Kujichaguulia (Self-determination).
- Day 3: Ujima (Collective work and responsibility).
- Day 4: Ujaama (Cooperative economics).
- Day 5: Nia (Purpose).
- Day 6: Kuumba (Creativity).
- Day 7: Imani (Faith).
For me, it has always been a wonderful way to connect my Christian Catholic faith with my African heritage. And so many Black families, whether African American, African or Caribbean, share that they have come to appreciate this particular holiday as a way of saying yes, we are part of whatever religion or faith-based community we belong to, but we are also very, very proud of our African heritage.
Every year, on the day after Christmas, my family brings out our Kwanzaa kinara – seven red, black and green candles representing the seven principles, and the colors of Africa; red, for struggle; green, for the land; black, for the people.
My parents instilled in me that the family that prays together stays together, so each day, my children and I would light a candle and pray, then discuss the Kwanzaa principle of the day.
If it was unity, we would talk about the importance of unity, and I would ask for their perspectives. Unity, of course is about our community being in harmony and loving one another, and the violence currently plaguing many communities goes against everything that speaks to. Therefore, Umoja is about trying to instill in our young that on a greater level, we are family, and therefore must love and respect community.
When the principle was self-determination, we would talk about how we as a community have the right to determine our own destiny, and to take control of those destinies, without anyone telling us what that destiny and what that potential could be, honoring a struggle that of course dates back to slavery.
Collective work and responsibility reinforces that everyone must contribute to the betterment of the community. Cooperative economics – that we share what we have with one another. And Purpose is just that. We operate with a sense of the greater life goals, acknowledgement of a Higher Power, and understanding that it is not just about us, but the greater good. Creativity is tapping into that which allows us to be imaginative. And faith, well, faith speaks for itself.
Ultimately, I could always count on some very interesting and insightful interpretations by my children, and would always be inspired by their perspectives – except, of course, when they wanted self-determination to mean that they get to do whatever they wanted to do.
Kwanzaa, however, reminds us of principles that, in the end, are universal for all peoples.
The holiday allows us to reflect on their meaning in our own lives, and then resolve to do better in the coming year toward meeting each and every one of these principles.
Thanks for allowing me to share about one of my favorite traditions. I invite all to our St. Nick’s Kwanzaa Mass celebration, and then afterward, gather with us in Oldershaw Hall for the Karamu feast that follows – a sharing of traditional African American foods and the wider potluck of contributions welcomed from all Mass attendees and participants.
From my family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanzaa!