For most people, Kwanzaa isn’t even a consideration. Even most of us Blacks, many are still scratching our heads trying to figure out exactly what it is.
But as I sat through a free screening of “The Black Candle” which is a new movie about Kwanzaa, it already confirmed what I have already been writing about all alone, it’s just a man’s attempt in creating another spiritual celebration like Christmas and Hanukkah.
How so? There’s food, prayer (libations), gift giving, and the spiritual side of Kwanzaa which urges everyone to practice its principles everyday. And instead of God being the center of worship and adulation, it’s the ancestors whose names are called and worshipped as if somehow by calling upon their names will make us all better people.
So although Karenga said it is not a religious celebration, he’s imitated much of Kwanzaa from the religious holidays of Christmas and Hanukkah. Hanukkah has the lighting of eight candles using a menorah while Kwanzaa lights seven candles using a kinara. In both Christianity and Judaism, the principles of the New Testament and 10 commandments are urged to keep while Kwanzaa uses the seven principles or the Swahili name of Nguzo Saba to urge its participants to follow. Kwanzaa ceremonies make use of “elders” while Christmas and Hanukkah ceremonies are sometimes held by pastors and rabbi. Prayers are said in Kwanzaa by use of libations.
And although Kwanzaa is tailored after the African harvest celebrations, no one can recall harvest celebrations being held in December. Is it by accident Karenga selected the time right after Christmas and during Hanukkah?
And yet, it’s not religious. Although God’s name is never invoked during a true Kwanzaa celebration, there is much spirituality, much adulation and worship and much teaching of moral principles for the betterment of human kind.
Even like Christmas and Hanukkah, Kwanzaa has been completely commercialized. There’s greeting cards, Kwanzaa kinaras (the candle holder), Kwanzaa stamps, and books about Kwanzaa, and the list goes on. Quite ironic because one of the reasons the creator of Kwanzaa, Karenga, created it was to get folks away from the commercialism of Christmas. Perhaps now Karenga can understand how something so special as Christmas has lost much of its true meaning to people because of the vast commercialism of it.
Secular humanism is the religion and the object of worship is man himself. That’s why this author has warned fellow Christians not to involve themselves in joining in this celebration because one can not serve two masters. Either it’s God one worships or it’s man – it can’t be both!
Kwanzaa will continue to be celebrated as most will consider it just another harmless holiday. Some will even accuse Christmas as being the evil celebration and not Kwanzaa.
But let’s just set this straight so the next time someone says that Christmas can’t be said or celebrated in their place (such as a school or business) due to the ill-used statement of “separation of church and state,” just tell them Kwanzaa is a religion too!
Addendum: An article on Slate.com gives an example of one using Kwanzaa as a religion when the article ends with the author saying:
“My simple defense of Kwanzaa is that in the short time that we celebrated the holiday, it brought my family together. We weren’t hitting the after-Christmas sales or trying out our new bicycles. We were kneeling around an altar and watching as the water ran from the jug in my brother’s hands.”
The author doesn’t say whom they are worshipping at the Kwanzaa altar, but it is clear that Kwanzaa is definitely practicing religious rituals, contrary to the moniker always used to describe Kwanzaa – “a non-religious holiday.”
(see that complete article on Slate here: Bring out the Kwanzaa Kinara)
© 2008, Carlotta Morrow. All rights reserved.
I suggest that you do some research on your own religion of Christianity as opposed to
Kwanzaa. What were black people before we were enslaved? What did we believe then before white people turned us into “negroes?”
Its 2009 and you are still brainwashed about a religion that you know nothing about except some book edited by King James. STUDY and stop perpetuating these myths that have no proof historically or scientifically. Read people like Gerald Massey, read the African Origin of the worlds major religions by Ben Jochanan or Black Athena by Martin Bernal-a white writer. Stop this ignorance and hypocrasy where you are attempting to tell me about something that you have not even researched-christianity. When did it happen? None of the books were written by actual disciples and written no earlier than 60-100 years after Jesus was supposed to die. What happened during the Council of Nicea in 323 AD? I know you know none of this because you are ignorant of these facts. I know most christians are so brainwashed they are afraid to read other books and that is why the ignorance continues.
When blacks were brought over here by “christians” in the bottom of a ship like animals and destroyed of their culture and language and religious beliefs we were given our enslaver’s religion. Now we are supposed to be free and people like you want to attack stuff like Kwanzaa which is not a religion, its an attempt to promote culture.
As slaves in this country everything we got was bad, food-fed pork guts, barely clothed, no education, no freedom, taught to hate ourselves and according to you the religion that they gave us was good? That is illogical. I don’t know you and don’t want to attack you but I think you have a responsibility to the people that you preach to, to be able to teach them as well. This means stop being lazy and do the research necessary to critique Kwanzaa which can be critiqued like anything else, even christianity. Even if you don’t do anything else, study how christianity came into being, its all well documented. But you know what they always say, if you want to keep something from black people put it in a book.
Yes, I’ve read the bible and not just the king james version so I know the religion and when it was adopted by the emperor of rome as well as how we were on the planet for thousands of years before Judaism, Islam or Christianity. What you are talking about is like telling people the world is flat, it doesn’t hold water. But if you want to keep people afraid and fearful of a “loving” god as the best way to ensure that they remain christians and mentally enslaved then you will not study your own religion, you’ll just keep teaching from that one book that even the people who brought us over here as slaves and still treat us like crap do not even follow-they are christians too.
We wonder why we can’t get it together as a people and its because we are still enslaved mentally and the people that gave us the religion got enough sense to not even follow it when it comes to us. They gave us the bible and took our land, gold, and souls.
Have a good day and EDUCATED yourself to THINK! As George Clinton says free your mind and the rest will follow, or think it ain’t a crime yet.
Twitter: christocentric
says:
Your opinion Pamela is RIGHT ON! There is absolutely no need for a Kwanzaa, especially in the way its used – as an alternative way of life.
I wonder how many that celebrate it realize they are participating in ancient African religious rituals such as ancestor worship!
I went to see the Kwanzaa movie at our local library called “The Black Candle” and I inadvertently ended up in a pre-Kwanzaa ceremony which included prayer to some deity…pouring of libation and roll calling of ancestors name — all before the movie started.
It seems harmless to those that aren’t aware of the teachings of Kwanzaa and its anti-Christian origins, but oh my goodness – when folks find out about it then where their true allegiances lie will definitely be found out! Those who are sensitive to offending the one true God will not want anything to do with this pagan ceremony.
I’m not much for Kwanzaa at this point. To each his own I suppose. I do have a problem with Christians celebrating it howeve There is enough to figure out from the Bible in order to live out their faith that anything else to me is a waste of time.r. That is just my opinion.
Carlotta,
They had article in my local paper about Kwanzaa. They may do this every year but I just noticed it this year. Mine is the first post.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20081231_11_0_Ashers845426
I have celebrated Kwanzaa since 1997. I have always used God (the Christian God) in my celebrations. I do not pretend to know everything Christianity or Dr.Karenga, but how sad it makes me to see that someone would try to damper something that simply brings joy to so many.
The principles of Christmas have been so distorted that I find it necessary to introduce to the “principles” of Kwanzaa. My family still puts up a christmas tree and we do gifts and say Merry Christmas. But the entire season from Oct to Dec I have to remind them what Christmas isn’t. I have to stay focused on the fact that Christmas should be about Unity, Faith, Collective Works and Responsibilites – and graditiude for what God has provided for us. Then right after the “Christmas season” we get into those same principles on a deeper level. We create gifts using the Creativity that God has blessed us with. We frequent Communtiy Organizations and stores and see what we can do to help them flourish.
To me Kwanzaa is the rememberance of those who came before you and a start of a new year to work harder on maintaining the love and peace in your heart and mind. Dr. Karenga may have initiated the celebraton for his own reasoning but what it is to many families is based on most of the christian teaching I have been taught all my life.
Twitter: christocentric
says:
Malika said:
As a Christian Malika, your first response should be sadness toward anyone who attempts to distort any portion of God’s gospel to mankind as Karenga has done. “Bringing joy” to people is just a counterfeit that Satan enjoys using to thwart God’s truth from people. Kwanzaa is a wolf in lambs clothing and will look attractive to anyone not aware of its deeper teachings.
By participating in Kwanzaa, you are also anticipating in ancient African religious rituals such as ancestor worship. Now, that is not pleasing to our Lord at all! I don’t doubt that you are giving Kwanzaa a Christian flare to it, but God doesn’t want us to have ANYTHING to do with any ungodly tradition or rituals.
You also said:
What’s going to happen when the principles of Kwanzaa are distorted? Will you then create another holiday yourself? If the distorting of Christmas has taken place, why didn’t you take it upon yourself to bring back the true meaning of Christmas within your family?
Dr. Karenga created Kwanzaa because he too was sickened with the commercialization of Christmas among other reasons. But since his creation of Kwanzaa, it too has taken on vast commercialization and misrepresentation such as Christmas has undergone. I think now he can understand how something “good” can turn “bad.” But as I wrote on my website, Dr. Karenga didn’t create Kwanzaa because he didn’t like what happened to Christmas, he created it because he hates our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He tried to create a new religion for black people to call their own.
Malika, it’s either God’s principles or Kwanzaa principles that will make you better – not both as some of the principles contradict biblical principles. It’s either God’s way or man’s way you will choose to spiritualize. You can not serve two masters!
Twitter: christocentric
says:
Mel, if anyone educates themselves about Christianity one would have to come to the conclusion that Jesus Christ truly existed. If that be the case (which it is) then the next question becomes what is the most accurate source of information about this very real person.
The answer to that question is the bible. Eye witness accounts and accounts written from the words of the eyewitnesses makes the bible a very reliable source.
I’ve studied my religion and I’m quite satisfied at the answers that I’ve found. Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of all mankind, the Alpha and the Omega, the creator, and the almighty Son of God.
Disprove Jesus Christ’s existence and his death, burial and resurrection, then you can disprove Christianity.