Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26th through January 1st. It is a seven day festival celebrating the African American people, their culture and their heritage.

Derived from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first fruits", Kwanzaa has its roots in the ancient African first-fruit harvest celebrations. However, its modern history begins in 1966 when it was developed by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga. Inspired by the civil rights struggles of the 1960's, Dr. Karenga conceived a holiday that would bring African Americans together in celebration of their black culture.

Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one, and Africans and African-Americans of all religious faiths and backgrounds practice Kwanzaa. It is organized around five fundamental activities common to Continental African first-fruit celebrations:

• ingathering of family, friends, and community,
• reverence for the creator and creation,
• commemoration of the past (honoring ancestors, learning lessons and honoring achievements of African history),
• recommitment to the highest cultural ideals of the African community,
• and celebration of the “Good of Life” (life, family, community, culture, etc.).