It is a cultural celebration designed for African Americans to give them a special time to connect with their heritage.
It was begun in the 60s by a university professor, Dr. Maulana Karenga who taught courses in African Studies. It was timed to run alongside of Christmas but not necessarily compete with it. It begins on Dec. 26 and continues for the week.
It celebrates the harvest abundance and new growth. There is a core of seven principles emphadizing core principles of Aftican history and heritage such as unity and self determination.
Small gifts symbolizing each one are given on successive days. They also have celebratory meals featuring harvest products and lighting a candle for each of the seven nights.
It just continued growing in popularity over the years even tho it started pretty small.
It’s one of the visible outgrowths of the civil rights and black power struggles of that time and provides a positive and unifying experience for black families through the years.