Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day: A Complete Guide for Making Kwanzaa a Part of Your Life

By Maitefa Angaza and Maitefa Anganza

Book Overview

From preparation to celebration, make your Kwanzaa a family tradition

Traditionally, Kwanzaa brings family, friends, and the community together for a winter celebration. But Kwanzaa can be a part of your life year-round. The 20 million people of African descent who celebrate this holiday steeped in cultural richness observe the holiday for its seven principles--principles that inspire the individual and promote community. Whether you're a first-time celebrant or a seasoned veteran, Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day is a must-have reference for making Kwanzaa special for you and your loved ones. With this book, you'll learn:

- Planning for daily observance and festive gatherings
- The seven principles at the heart of Kwanzaa
- How to involve everyone in your Karamu (feast)
- Recipes for traditional dishes you can make at home
- Zawadi (gifts) that reflect your values
- Popular Kwanzaa songs and even one Kwanzaa rap
- Where to find the best Kwanzaa accessories
- And more

Let this holiday guide show you how to turn your Kwanzaa observance into a way of life to enrich your family, friends, and community.

Of the several books on Kwanzaa, few are invested with such utility as Maitefa Angaza's thorough-going discussion and analysis . . . a meaningful, wonderful guide. --Herb Boyd, author of We Shall Overcome: The History of the Civil Rights Movement As It Happened

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0758216653
• ISBN13: 9780758216656
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Dafina Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Great Kwanzaa Resource

As a person who has celebrated Kwanzaa for a couple of decades and as the creator of several kwanzaa products myself, I found the book 'Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day' to be a very informative book on this growing celebration. The book offers historical info on Kwanzaa and illustrates how the celebration connects people of African descent around the world with our cultural roots. The book shows you how to organize a Kwanzaa celebration of your own and has a lot of great contacts for Kwanzaa music, books and supplies. I recommend it for anyone interested in learning about Kwanzaa. I also recommend it for those who already know of and celebrate Kwanzaa as a way to reinforce its concepts and its meaning to you.

Bravo!

Ms. Angaza's journalistic style takes the reader on a historical voyage as well as a personal one. Her sense of prose will dazzle the reader as well as make him ponder of why it is so important to celebrate such a holiday. This book has even inspired me to throw my first Kwanzaa event this year.

Seven Days, Seven Principles... It's Kwanzaa Time All Year-Round!

I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone! Were I able to give it 6 stars, I would have given it 7. This book is not simply a nice read... it is an Absolute Need. Seriously, this piece comes at a time when our communities & our families are in dire need of self-realization and a reconnection to the roots and core values that make African people unique. One of the things that was most impressive to me was the level of research that was done to compile this work. Who knew that so many people in so many countries across the world are celebrating Kwanzaa and adapting it's principles. Myself and my mate have even discussed beginning to travel each year during the holiday so that we may expose this tradition to our children as it is celebrated throughout the world. If you have never celebrated Kwanzaa, have celebrated all your life or think that this book is not for you... Buy this book! It is for you and you will absolutely not be dissapointed. The Resource pages toward the back are worth the purchase alone.

Kwanzaa - Beyond 7 Days

I picked up Ms. Angaza's text, Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day,and have begun to read it like a novel. I thank Ms. Angaza for penning this positive vibration and upliftment. Her prose is smooth and rational. It puts into perspective the cultural repression and damage to the psyche of Africans worldwide while also providing numerous examples of our triumphs, successes and committment to our cultural heritage. I laughed out loud at the passage where she exposes the cultural bias inherent in the debate over hyphenated identities and the kiss me i'm Irish example. She's crafted a blend of history, social commentary, practical applications, call to action and inspirational vignettes that can be beneficial to all. I reccommend purchasing this text just for the resource section - simply phenomenal. The resource seciton could be used as a life long self study core curricula. Don't overlook the recipes - yummy. She presents things so honestly (sans pretext) that I think people will be encouraged to try out many of the book's recommendations. A Complete guide is an apt subtitle for this work.

Kwanzaa Revisited!

Ms. Anganza has done a great service for the the African Community at large. She has challenged us to revisit the original ideas surrounding Kwanzaa and has helped us to make it a real part of our everyday lives. After reading this book every family will have an opportunity to grow themselves into better human beings who can make a contribution to their community and the world!