The day after Christmas annually marks the beginning of one other winter custom: Kwanzaa.
The annual, weeklong vacation celebrates African American heritage, tradition and neighborhood. Its identify — derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” or “first fruits of the harvest”— and its guiding rules are taken from Swahili, one in every of Africa’s most generally spoken languages.
Modeled after African first fruits harvest festivals, Kwanzaa takes place over seven days, representing the vacation’s seven rules: umoja (unity), kujichagulia (self-determination), ujima (collective work & duty), ujamaa (cooperative economics), nia (objective), kuumba (creativity) and imani (religion).
A time for studying and fellowship, Kwanzaa has been celebrated in Philadelphia for the reason that late Nineteen Sixties and continues to thrive annually with kinara lightings, storytelling, gift-giving, music and extra.
The area hosts a wide range of occasions from the longstanding pageant on the Penn Museum (now in its forty first anniversary) to a Black-owned enterprise purchasing bazaar at Franklin Sq. to the weeklong celebration hosted by the African American Museum in Philadelphia.
Kwanzaa is formally celebrated from December 26 by January 1 annually, although in 2024, Philadelphia’s celebrations begin as early as December 10.
Learn on for our information on the place to rejoice Kwanzaa in Better Philadelphia in 2024.
Be aware: Occasions on this article are organized chronologically.
