# Do you know anyone who celebrates Kwanzaa? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 30, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550 "2012-12-30T05:12:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/21 "2013-01-01T16:50:01Z")
Best joke I’ve heard this year, some stand-up said “I only know five people [who celebrates Kwanzaa] and two of them are white lesbians with black kids.” ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/22 "2013-01-01T17:07:17Z")
Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/23 "2013-01-01T18:48:00Z")
It must be a bit discouraging that Karenga the inventor of the “holiday” was sentenced to one to ten years for literally torturing two women who he claimed he thought were trying to poison him. Dampens the holiday spirit just a tad. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/24 "2013-01-01T19:13:10Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Sometimes I hear about Kwanzaa, a [del]holiday[/del] week-long celebration invented by an atheist black nationalist for some atheist black nationalist reason or another. > > I don’t think I really know anyone who observes it. > > I was doing some research on it, and apparently it’s not commonly observed among anyone. > > Do you do anything for it? Know anyone who does? > > (I’m talking about the North American version, not the Brazilian one, but if you want to talk about other African Diaspora holidays, that’s fine too.) Perhaps, perhaps not… [Festivus’s “Airing of Grievances”](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus#Airing_of_Grievances), however, has never been more popular. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/25 "2013-01-01T21:07:55Z")
From the reading I’ve done and from people I know it seems that Kwanzaa really isn’t a holiday that people celebrate at home, like they do Christmas or Hannukah. It’s a more community-based thing - more like St Patrick’s Day, perhaps. Where people primarily celebrate by going to bars and drinking green beer, or something. The local paper [does stories on Kwanzaa every year](http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/flint/index.ssf/2012/12/kwanzaa_celebrations_begin_in.html) (I just searched archives, and if it makes a difference, this region has a high black population and Flint itself is majority black - maybe it doesn’t get covered much in “less black” media markets) and that’s pretty much the only context it’s mentioned in. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/26 "2013-01-01T21:13:19Z")
I’ve never met anyone that celebrates it. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/27 "2013-01-02T00:17:58Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I have been to some ceremonies with some of my Afrocentric friends, but I don’t know that many people who celebrate. I love the idea of Kwanzaa, but I am too lazy to learn all the rules. I’ve been trying to learn those same Swahili words for decades. They just don’t stick. I only remember Imani is faith. And I only know what Ujamaa means because that was the name of my freshman dorm. Actually, I don’t remember what it means now that I think about it. Crap! I don’t know a lot of people who celebrate Kwanzaa, but some. My aunt and uncle do. ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/28 "2013-01-02T05:07:01Z")
Well if they celebrate, it ain’t with me! ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/29 "2013-01-02T06:39:19Z")
I don’t know anyone who celebrates Kwanzaa but I think I could count the number of black people in a 30 mile radius with my fingers. I really know next to nothing about the holiday other than it incorporates the colors black, yellow and red and (according to the Food Network) [this is a great dessert for the holiday](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we2iWTJqo98) ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/30 "2013-01-02T23:04:04Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > IThen again, I’m white, and Kwanzaa was invented by Afrocentric (translation: racist) blacks, so any that did celebrate Kwanzaa probably wouldn’t be hanging around me to begin with. Racists invented Kwanzaa? Do you have a cite for that? ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/31 "2013-01-03T00:46:39Z")
> [@AngelSoft](#): > > I don’t know anyone who celebrates Kwanzaa but I think I could count the number of black people in a 30 mile radius with my fingers. Ha, right. A lot of these “no” answers I’m sure come with “I know zero black people.” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/32 "2013-01-03T01:23:27Z")
I know a few, mostly through working with students from a historically black university. As mentioned, lots of institutions include some kind of observance. Many holidays are observed through schools, libraries, churches, etc. without necessarily being celebrated often by individuals in their homes (Memorial Day, Labor Day, Earth Day, Columbus Day, Arbor Day, various minor religious holidays, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![AngelSoft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angelsoft/32/440_2.png) [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/33 "2013-01-03T01:37:53Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Ha, right. A lot of these “no” answers I’m sure come with “I know zero black people.” Well in my case, I don’t know many white people either XD I’m a bit antisocial and living in such a redneck, small town doesn’t give me many opportunities to meet a diverse range of people. Though, from the sounds of the thread, even if I did know anyone, chances are they wouldn’t celebrate it. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/34 "2013-01-03T02:52:29Z")
Nope. Asked a black co-worker once (semi-facetiously) if she was going to celebrate it; she laughed and said that Kwanzaa was “bullshit.” ---
**Author:** ![Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@Eugene\_of\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eugene_of_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/35 "2013-01-03T03:06:25Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Nope. Asked a black co-worker once (semi-facetiously) if she was going to celebrate it; she laughed and said that Kwanzaa was “bullshit.” Sounds like my kind of gal. ---
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/36 "2013-01-03T03:24:28Z")
I’m white but have a decent amount of black friends and acquaintances. I don’t know anyone in New Orleans or Chicago who celebrates it, most everyone in our current neighborhood just goes in for Christmas. I just asked my roommate (black, mid-20s, adopted by a white family when she was young) and she said her folks took her to a couple of Kwanzaa events when she was a kid, but she hasn’t celebrated it since then, or know anybody who does. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/37 "2013-01-03T13:04:36Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Racists invented Kwanzaa? Do you have a cite for that? [Yes, actually, I do.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa) From the History section: > [@](#): > > Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 as the first specifically African-American holiday. Karenga said his goal was to “give Blacks an alternative to the existing holiday and give Blacks an opportunity to celebrate themselves and their history, rather than simply imitate the practice of the dominant society.” In other words, he created Kwanzaa because he thought Christmas is a white man’s holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/38 "2013-01-03T17:36:59Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > [Yes, actually, I do.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa) No, you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/39 "2013-01-03T21:19:14Z")
His asshole is his cite. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550/40 "2013-01-03T22:17:31Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > And I only know what Ujamaa means because that was the name of my freshman dorm. Actually, I don’t remember what it means now that I think about it. Crap! As I recall, ujamaa is translated as “collective economics” or “socialism” depending on how favorable one is to Kwanzaa. 😛 That is, some people use this as an additional criticism (additional to the _ad hominem_ critiques above :)) of Kwanzaa that it enshrines socialism as one of its values and is thus un-American in their eyes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-who-celebrates-kwanzaa/645550.md?page=3)