Kwanzaa
The holiday of Kwanzaa was created by Dr. Maulana Karenga in 1966, during the period of US history in which African Americans were involved in struggles for their civil rights. This was the period of Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights movement, and Black Power.
Dr. Karenga wanted to create a holiday that would bring African Americans together in celebration of their black culture. He was inspired by the “first fruit” or harvest festivals that were celebrated throughout Africa.
In fact the name he gave to the holiday, “Kwanzaa,” comes from the Kiswahili phrase for “first fruit” – matunda ya kwanza. (Kiswahili, or Swahili, is the largest spoken language on the African continent and thus the language of Kwanzaa). When Dr. Karenga chose the word “kwanza” for the name of his festival he added the extra “a” at the end to give the word greater significance. (Source)
Online Activities for Kwanzaa
- Two Interactive Sites about Kwanzaa for Students
- Kwanzaa Facts and Principle of the Day Ideas
- Kwanzaa Printables and Crafts (for elementary students)
- Sesame Street Kwanzaa (YouTube video)
- Online Kwanzaa Activities
Resources
- Celebrate Winter Holidays: Kwanzaa: Students can learn the basics about Kwanzaa, light the Kinara, send a traditional Kwanzaa greeting, and more at this site from Scholastic.
- Kwanzaa: The History Channel offers this excellent article for older students on the history and meaning of Kwanzaa.
- Kwanzaa Lesson Plan: This lesson plan for students in grades 4-9 has lots of different cross-curricular activities included with it.
- Seven African Folktales for Kwanzaa: These text-only tales would be a great starting point for students learning about Kwanzaa. After reading them, ask students to illustrate the stories.