The African-American celebration of Kwanzaa is observed from today to Jan. 1.

        Kwanzaa focuses on traditional African values of African-American families and their culture. Despite what some people believe, Kwanzaa is not a substitute for Christmas, but a celebration of the harvest.

        The word Kwanzaa means “first fruits of the harvest” in the African language Kiswahili and has gained wide acceptance since it was founded in 1966 by California State University-Long Beach professor Maulana Karenga. Today, the holiday is observed by more than 15 million people worldwide.

        Each of the seven days of the celebration is designated to stress one of seven guiding principles, or Nguzo Saba, that the holiday is based upon. They stress the importance of family, community, responsibility, commerce and self-improvement.

        Traditionally, seven different items are gathered to symbolize these principles. Six of the Kwanzaa symbols rest upon one, a woven place mat called a mkeka, usually made of straw. The word mkeka represents an African saying that “no matter how high a house is built, it must stand on something.”

        Visit the Web site Everything About Kwanzaa (www.tike.com/celeb-kw.htm) to learn more about this holiday.

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