# What's the deal with Kwanzaa **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 9, 2014, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752 "2014-12-09T12:39:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/21 "2014-12-10T01:10:43Z")
> [@Waymore](#): > > This. I would wager the Christian church is much more vital to most black communities than it is to Americans as a whole. Replacing the biggest Christian holiday of the year probably wasn’t a good strategy to generate buy in. I don’t know any black person who celebrates Kwanzaa who also doesn’t celebrate Christmas. They aren’t exclusive. Plenty of black churches do something Kwanzaa-esque. **even sven** hit the nail on the head. Kwanzaa is more an institutional thing than a family thing. Your kid goes to a school or community center with an Afrocentric focus? He or she will likely be lighting the kinara. It’s been my experience that most Kwanzaa participants are very politically conscious and very much into uplifting the community. They often work in their communities at the “grass-roots” level as social activists, afrocentric educators, or ministers. Their communities are the world they inhabit. They don’t necessarily inhabit the “mainstream” world that most Dopers would be most familiar with. The few black people that you (generic you) know probably don’t celebrate it. But if they did, how would you know? Just because people don’t go around wearing “Merry Kwanzaa!” sweaters doesn’t mean it’s not celebrated. It just doesn’t have the over-the-top profile that Christmas does. And except for the gathering on the last day, there really isn’t any “celebrating” involved. Though, I have heard of people exchanging small handmade gifts in lieu of the materialistic gift-giving of Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/22 "2014-12-10T01:12:09Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > …ALL holidays are made up, of course. And many are mostly relevant to a particular group. I don’t see Chinese New Year or Passover as big racist holidays, after all. True, but just like with religions the older a holiday is the more seriously it’s taken. Give Kwanza a few centuries; it’ll either be forget, a major holiday, or morphed into something totally unrecognizable. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/23 "2014-12-10T01:23:14Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > The few black people that you (generic you) know probably don’t celebrate it. But if they did, how would you know? Just because people don’t go around wearing “Merry Kwanzaa!” sweaters doesn’t mean it’s not celebrated. It just doesn’t have the over-the-top profile that Christmas does. And except for the gathering on the last day, there really isn’t any “celebrating” involved. Though, I have heard of people exchanging small handmade gifts in lieu of the materialistic gift-giving of Christmas. Now I’m picturing the “ugly Kwanzaa sweater contest.” Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/24 "2014-12-10T01:56:13Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > It’s been my experience that most Kwanzaa participants are very politically conscious and very much into uplifting the community. They often work in their communities at the “grass-roots” level as social activists, afrocentric educators, or ministers. Their communities are the world they inhabit. They don’t necessarily inhabit the “mainstream” world that most Dopers would be most familiar with. Here’s an example of the subculture I’m talking about: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi2hmlbgKpI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi2hmlbgKpI) If you do a search on Kwanzaa celebrations on youtube, you’ll find plenty of proof that it is a real thing. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/25 "2014-12-10T02:28:02Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > True, but just like with religions the older a holiday is the more seriously it’s taken. Give Kwanza a few centuries; it’ll either be forget, a major holiday, or morphed into something totally unrecognizable. This. In 500 years L. Ron Hubbard will be bigger & more socially relevant than Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Lemmytheseal2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lemmytheseal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemmytheseal2)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/26 "2014-12-10T02:41:57Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Why does it bother you? I can’t answer for the OP, but some people are bothered by anything that seems to indicate that the US is anything other than The Christian United Christian States of Christian America for Christians. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/27 "2014-12-10T02:51:10Z")
> [@Lemmytheseal2](#): > > I can’t answer for the OP, but some people are bothered by anything that seems to indicate that the US is anything other than The Christian United Christian States of Christian America for Christians. You left out the “White” part. The lack of that is what \*really \*gets them going. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/28 "2014-12-10T02:58:21Z")
> [@BaldDudePeekskill](#): > > I have never met one single human being of any color,race or creed that has celebrated this Holiday. At least you didn’t say “some of my best friends don’t celebrate Kwanzaa”. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/29 "2014-12-10T04:40:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I imagine that 98% of the cards are purchased by clueless, well-meaning white people and given to their bemused black friends. I bought a few as gag cards to send to friends. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/30 "2014-12-10T07:08:36Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Now if only I could convince everyone to give the same respect to Steak and Blowjob Day. Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/31 "2014-12-10T07:47:40Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I get the impression it is a holday driven more by white political correctness than black solidarity. > > But no, I don’t know anyone, black or white, who takes it very seriously. Sort of like Secretary’s Day, except for black people. Or maybe Channukah, because it’s longer. > > Now if only I could convince everyone to give the same respect to Steak and Blowjob Day. > > Regards, > Shodan I am in favor of a holiday in which racist white guys give each other blowjobs while the rest of us eat steak. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/32 "2014-12-10T10:59:13Z")
Kwanzaa was founded by a left-wing college professor named [Maulana Karenga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maulana_Karenga). Based on the bio in his Wikipedia entry, it looks to me like he was a preacher’s kid who turned his back on religion, but still wanted a pretext to demand a week off in December. So he cobbled together a bunch of Marxist rhetoric and Pan-African symbols, and wrapped them around a menorah. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/33 "2014-12-10T11:08:58Z")
I have to lol at **Skald**. I danced at a Kwanzaa celebration around the time the concept was getting started. Had a great time, all kids seemed to love it, and the colorful clothes were fantastic. Like Cinco de Mayo. I think it’s a heritage thing but I don’t really follow them, just participate if I’m around. If there are kettle drums, I dance. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/34 "2014-12-10T11:19:21Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Now if only I could convince everyone to give the same respect to Steak and Blowjob Day. Ahh the Holiday Season. Follow that up a couple days with Guinness and Jameson’s Day (aka St Patrick’s Day) and you are talking good times. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/35 "2014-12-10T12:35:20Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Now if only I could convince everyone to give the same respect to Steak and Blowjob Day. > > Regards, > Shodan I suspect you have to give in order to recieve. Perhaps you could give out gift cards for blow jobs and steak dinners? ---
**Author:** ![Kzbre5m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kzbre5m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kzbre5m)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/36 "2014-12-10T13:02:59Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] Now if only I could convince everyone to give the same respect to Steak and Blowjob Day. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Knorf] Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. [/QUOTE] Loren and Wally celebrates [Grilled Steak and a You Know What Day](http://www.wror.com/Contests/Register.aspx?ContestID=127058) every year. There’s even a [t-shirt](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do3TcDcPc9M). ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/37 "2014-12-10T14:06:48Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > I suspect you have to give in order to recieve. Perhaps you could give out gift cards for blow jobs and steak dinners? Actually I was thinking of establishing Chocolate and Cunnilingus Day. It will be celebrated twice a week. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/38 "2014-12-10T16:29:56Z")
Who cares about the credentials or personality of the person who proposed the holiday? Shall we discuss the personality traits and negative elements for every holiday we celebrate? Who cares whether it’s an arbitrary holiday set up with dodgy reasoning? They all were! (Excepting American Independence Day. And … uh … Nope, that’s it.) Who cares whether no one you know in your cohort of friends and acquaintances (which is at best a small fragment of your neighborhood, let alone your city, much less your state, not to mention the whole damn country!) celebrates the holiday? Obviously someone does. Honestly, I have to question the need for certain types to act all butt hurt about the existence of Kwanzaa. What’s it to you? Seriously. If people want to celebrate it, let 'em. Live and let live. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/39 "2014-12-10T16:38:19Z")
Slow Moving Vehicle: > [@](#): > > You need greeting cards, obviously. Said greeting will read “How _you_ doin’?” ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752/40 "2014-12-10T16:46:18Z")
I teach in a predominantly black area. None of my students, nor any of their parents who were my students before them, give the impression that Kwanzaa is important to them. I can’t remember ever hearing one of them even mention Kwanzaa. Xmas, now, is a big deal. That’s very much on every kid’s mind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-kwanzaa/706752.md?page=3)