shoppes  |  occasions  |  HOME

our gift to you  |  advice & resources  |  international  |  business  |  consulting services  |  site map
FIND GIFTS:  for her  |  for him  |  for couples  |  for tots to teens  |  for business associates

Kwanzaa is a nonreligious, cultural festival during which African-Americans are encouraged to reflect upon their heritage, evaluate their present circumstances, and commit themselves to a fuller, more productive future. The seven-day festival (December 26 to January 1) was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of African-American history at California State University.

Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of seven principles.

• Unity (umoja). To strive for and maintain unity in the family, community, nation, and race.
• Self-determination (kujichagulia). To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves, and speak for ourselves.
• Collective work and responsibility (ujima). To build and maintain our community together and to make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.
• Cooperative economics (ujamaa). To build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses and to profit together from them.
• Purpose (nia). To make as our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.
• Creativity (kuumba). To do always as much as we can, in the way that we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than when we inherited it.
• Faith (imani). To believe with all our hearts in our parents, our teachers, our leaders, our people, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

Gifts (zawadi) are often exchanged during Kwanzaa, but because it is a spiritual celebration, gifts are played down and social rejuvenation is played up. Handmade gifts with special meaning or which will help the recipient through the coming year are recommended.

Gifts to reinforce specific principles might be given each day of the celebration, or all gifts might be given during the Feast (Karamu) on December 31.

Start—or add to-a collection of books about Kwanzaa or African—American culture. Dozens of such books can be found on the Internet at amazon.com. Choose from cookbook, crafts books, books about the principles of Kwanzaa, and more. Here are a just few. Kwanzaa: An African-American Celebration of Culture and Cooking by Eric V. Copage; Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture by Maulana Karenga; and Kwanzaa and Me: A Teacher's Story by Vivian Gussin Paley.

Present Perfect: Unforgettable Gifts for Every Occasion is filled with gift ideas for Kwanzaa and every other gift giving occasion. In addition, you get tips on gifting etiquette, shopping, wrapping, special presentations, and much, much more. To order the book, click here.

NEW!  To start shopping for gifts right now, click here.

Have any Kwanzaa gift ideas you'd like to share?