Traditions

English
TRADITIONS
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past
Kwanzaa.
Is an African-American andPan-African holiday that celebrates family, community and culture. It is observed from December 26 through January 1 and its origins may be found in the first harvest celebrations of Africa, from which thisholiday takes its name.
Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase, "matunda ya kwanza," which means "first fruits" in Swahili, a Pan-African tongue that is the most widely spoken language of Africa.
Thefirst-fruits celebrations are recorded in African history dating back to Ancient Egypt and Nubia, with references, both ancient and modern, appearing in other classical African civilizations, such asAshantiland and Yorubaland, and among societies as large as empires...Swaziland, for example...and smaller groups like the Matabele.
Kwanzaa also builds upon the five fundamental activities ofContinental African first-fruits rituals, which are as follows:
Ingathering: A time of ingathering of the people...of family, friends and community...in order to reaffirm the bonds between them.
Reverence:A time of special reverence for the creator and creation in thanks and respect for the blessings, bountifulness and beauty of creation.
Commemoration: A time for commemoration of the past in pursuitof its lessons and in honor of its models of human excellence...the ancestors...all the people and actions that have come before.

Recommitment: A time of recommitment to the highest culturalideals...both personal and communal...in an ongoing effort to always bring forth the best of African cultural thought and practice.

Celebration: A time for celebration of the good...the good life and ofexistence itself...the good of family, community and culture...the good of the awesome and the ordinary...in other words, a celebration of the good in all its manifestations on the Earth.

The...