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146 Kwanzaa ( December 26 through January 1 ) 041226
Kwanzaa photos
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Kwanzaa is a non-religious African American holiday (lasting seven days) to
celebrate family, community, and culture. It begins on December 26 and ends on
January 1. ”Kwanzaa” means “first fruits” (harvest) in Swahili. Each night
during the seven day celebration, the family gets together and a child
lights the candles on the Kinara (candleholder). There are seven candles, one
for each day. The number of candles lit represents which day of Kwanzaa it is. Then, one
of the seven principles is discussed by the family during the seven days of
Kwanzaa: The seven principles are: Unity, Self-determination, Collective Work
and Responsibility, Cooperative Economics, Purpose, Creativity and Faith. For
more detail, see <
Kwanzaa — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and
Facts >
The African American population is 37+Million*, (which is a big number).
Therefore, American calendars usually mark this day.
* Black or African American alone (as of July 1, 2003)
<
http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/tables/SC-EST2003-04.xls >
<
Facts for Features Black (African-American) History
Month February 2013 - Facts for Features & Special Editions - Newsroom - U.S.
Census Bureau >
Question from a Japanese?
”How much typical Americans know about Kwanzaa?”
Response from an
American:
”I've heard of this word before and I know it is some celebration, but that is
about all I know about it.”
Response from another American:
”Regarding Kwanzaa -- I think it is a mix of African traditions that were
recently combined to form a holiday. I started to hear about it in the
news about five years ago or so. I had never heard of it before then. I don't
know anybody who celebrates it or what exactly it is. ”
In summary, we think that many
Americans usually know the word, Kwanzaa, and they sometimes know that Kwanzaa
is a rite for African Americans. But many Americans don’t know more than that.
We think the reason why many Americans don’t know what Kwanzaa is
(although the African American pop is sort of huge), is because the
U.S. is made up of people who
originated from many different countries. Accordingly, this is a big difference
between the U.S. and Japan
where almost one kind of people (native Japanese) live.
in
Japanese
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