Is that a nice holiday sentiment, or is it patronizing?
It’s presumptive, at the very least. Not every African-American celebrates Kwanzaa or even recognizes it as any kind of meaningful thing. If you know that they’re celebrating, give them your well wishes. If not, best to leave it alone.
TeaElle is right. Around here most African-Americans, and there are plenty of them, are Christians and celebrate Christmas. I have black friends that turn their noses up at the mention of Kwanzaa.
I just wish everyone a Happy New Year. Not everyone celebrates Christmas or Hannukah or Kwanzaa, but damn near everyone celebrates New Year.
(The “damn near” was included to forestall the weisenheimers who will pipe up about Chinese New Year, Jewish New Year, etc.)
I usually say “Happy Holidays” and leave it at that. Unless I say “Bah Humbug, you whippersnappers!”
Kwanzaa’s kind of a joke among most black people I’ve known. Kind of a kitschy over-sincere 60’s/70’s cultural artifact.
And not every black person is African-American.
Kwanza is somewhat self-patronizing by it’s own nature. It was invented in 1966 at the height of the civil rights movement to encourage African Americans to identify with Africa.
I understand why it came about (given the time frame) but IMO, it creates more excess mental baggage than positive reinforcement of ideals. Anybody I ever met that was involved in it seemed to be a racial isolationist. It’s not an event or ideology that I find myself giving best wishes to.
Hell, not every African-American is black, either, for that matter.
I know a white dude who emigrated to the US from South Africa. He wrote a great college essay, “I am an African American.”
I also agree with TeaElle it’s a bit presumptive and though it may be well-intentioned, could rub someone the wrong way.
A friend of mine whose family is from Pakistan was wished a “Happy Ramadan” one year by a co-worker. He had no idea what the guy was talking about and said “I’m not Muslim.” His co-worker then said “Oh, I’m so sorry!.. Are you Hindu?” Then my perplexed friend said “I’m Catholic.”
He was mildy annoyed (and only mildly because he knew his co-worker had only the best of intentions) because he said it made him feel “singled out” by his race in a way he had never experienced before. Not really in a negative way, it’s just that, it was the first time anyone had tried to be “inclusive” with him and thereby made him feel like he “needed including”. If that makes any sense.
He just said “it was weird” (for him personally, because that had never come up before.)
To be clear, though, there’s nothing inherently anti-Christian about Kwanzaa and there are many Christians who celebrate it. In fact, I’d say that the majority who celebrate Kwanzaa also identify as Christian (since Christianity still holds a nominal majority position amongst African-Americans) even though Kwanzaa itself was designed to be entirely secular and the Imani (faith) principle within Kwanzaa is faith in self and community, not faith in any diety or higher power.
I specifically use the African-American moniker here because of the African connection inherent in Kwanzaa. Those who celebrate it are exactly the populace which tend to be adamant about being referred to as A-A as opposed to black.
In that case, they are probably the kind of people who would get offended no matter what you said or didn’t say . . .
Well, in many cases, you’re dead on right (as usual) Eve. But we all have something we’re strident about, so I tend not to hold that particular issue against most. Unless, of course, they’re complete and total tools about it. I suffer not tools gladly.
. . . You mean “Implement-Americans.”
By Eve: "You mean “Implement-Americans.”
You’re going to heaven, or hell, or someplace unusual for that one!
Like Home Depot? 
Hey, if you’re not Christian, does it mean you can’t enjoy Christmas like everybody else? I didn’t think it had much to do with religion anyhow. If you’re curious about what they celebrate; ask em. Relax, man.
But Kwanzaa is uniquely an African American invention, so it wouldn’t make sense to universalise it to all black people anyway. Bless im, the guy who invented it tried, but it’s kind of a contrived thing and I’m not even sure it caught on that much. Anyway, black people in any other part of the world most likely don’t know anything about it.
Ron Karenga, forget real last name, was head of USO, a Marxist black power group. He later spent 4 years in prison for torture. When asked why he had Kwanzaa at Xmas time he said, “It’s not African. Blacks wouldn’t celebrate it if they knew it was American. It’s at Xmas because that’s when a lot of Bloods would be partying.” Karenga said creation of Kwanzaa was motivated in part by hostility to Christianity & Judaism. Lastly, black author Jesse Lee Peterson wrote,“It is a political statement for a separate black nation & hatred against whites.” Bush & Clinton were ignorant of this in their positive statements re: Kwanzaa. So I will only wish a happy Kwanzaa to racist , Marxist blacks.