Kwanzaa 2009 | Joyous Kwanzaa A Few Weeks Away

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Kwanzaa 2009 | Joyous Kwanzaa A Few Weeks Away

Saturday, January 30th, 2010 Subscribe To Our Feed

Kwanzaa 2009 will be December 26th to January 1st

Kwanzaa is one of the three main end of the year holidays, along with Christmas and Hanukkah, and searches for “Kwanzaa 2009? on Google Trends indicate that some people are wondering when it occurs. The unfamiliar shall now be enlightened. Kwanzaa is celebrated on the same dates every year, December 26th to January 1st of the New Year, and that never changes. Hanukkah varies by year due to the Hebrew Calendar, but we’ll get into that later. So if you are curious about holidays other than Christmas, there’s plenty of information out there on them, and you won’t need payday loans for an encyclopedia.

Kwanzaa, in brief

Kwanzaa was created in the 1960s by Ron Karenga, an African American activist.It was first celebrated December 26th, 1966 to January 1st, 1967. It is a festival seven days in length, one day of observance for each of seven principles:

Umoja, or Unity
Kujichagulia, or Self Determination
Ujima, or Collective Work/Responsibility
Ujamaa, or Collective Economics
Nia, or Purpose
Kuumba, or Creativity
Imani, or Faith

The holiday is meant to celebrate the African heritage of African Americans, and to reflect upon the traditions and roots of the African American people.Between 5 million and 12 million Americans annually celebrate it. The appropriate greeting and answer is “Joyous Kwanzaa.”

Technically, we’re closer to Hanukkah as of now

It’s somewhat curious as to why people are looking for the date of Kwanzaa right now, as it doesn’t vary and we’re technically closer to Hannukkah anyway. Hannukah 2009 begins sunset December 11th and ends at sunset on December 19th.The beginning and end of Hannukkah varies by year, as the Hebrew Calendar is lunisolar. We, along with most countries, are on the Gregorian Calendar, which is entirely solar, in case you were curious.

Some other holidays observed during the Holiday Season

Winter festivals are a human tradition that nearly every culture on Earth observes in some form or another. You can probably guess why: because of the Winter Solstice, and of course the beginning of a new year. For instance, December 8th is Bodhi Day, or a day commemorating when Buddha (Siddartha Guatama) received Enlightenment. Some others include the Pastafarian, or the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster celebration of Holiday, which they are encouraged to celebrate whenever they want. And of course, as if I wasn’t going to bring it up, December 23rd marks Festivus for the rest of us. Later, there will indeed be an Airing of Grievances and Feats of Strength.

Happy Holidays becomes appropriate if more than one holiday is celebrated

There’s a lot of controversy that the phrase “Happy Holidays” is some sort of slight (A Hint: it isn’t.) If we’re lucky enough to live in a country where the government does not dictate to us what we’re supposed to believe, no matter how we actually do, the term “Happy Holidays” is an acknowledgement of that freedom of choice. So to recap – Kwanzaa 2009 will be December 26th, 2009 to January 1st, 2010. Those are the other holidays in the works.

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