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Christmas, Kwanzaa, Both or Neither?

msuchoir.org Morgan State University choir stages an annual Christmas concert.

By Kristin Murray
Black College Wire

Most students during this time of year are preparing to head home for the holidays. The question is, which holiday will these students celebrate?

Many at Florida A&M University observe Christmas and Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa, created by Maulana Ron Karenga in 1966, is a weeklong celebration from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. The holiday highlights seven African principles. But there is some controversy surrounding the holiday; some students believe the holiday is fictitious.

"I used to celebrate Kwanzaa, but I had a conversation with two African students and changed my mind," said Naajiya Dodson, a first-year business administration student from New York. "They told me that they didn't like the way people took items from their culture and changed them."

Other students disagreed with Dodson's conclusion. Jasmine Furr said she celebrates Kwanzaa and considers it a beneficial holiday for blacks in America.

Somona Taylor, a freshman business administration student from Orlando, said Kwanzaa will be something new for her family.

"I'm excited because my dad said our family is going to start celebrating Kwanzaa this year," she said. "My little sister was just born and he named her Qwanzaa."

Others are more traditional.

"I've always celebrated Christmas," said sophomore Stehson Covington, a criminal justice student from Miami. "The thought of celebrating Kwanzaa honestly never crossed my mind."

Some have a more basic reason: "I don't celebrate Kwanzaa because I don't know enough about it," said Mark Ivy, a senior marketing student from Jacksonville, Fla. He said he believes many students are uneducated about the holiday.

Lauren Elliott said she thinks people should celebrate the two simultaneously.

"They actually compliment each other really well," said Elliott, a pharmacy student from Jacksonville. "The principles give a beneficial outlook on the real world view, while Christmas gives a more spiritual outlook."

Nictoria Frazier, a freshman business administration student from Brooklyn, N.Y., agreed with Elliott, saying one can celebrate more than one holiday.

"I don't believe that you have to choose," Frazier said. "It's like mayonnaise and mustard — you can have both on your sandwich."

Some students are turned away by the commercialism associated with the holidays. And for that reason, they do not celebrate either.

"There's no point in celebrating commercial holidays because it's just me and my mom," said freshman Paige Casey. "I don't want her to pay for extra stuff that I don't really need."

Christmas and Kwanzaa are not the only holidays this season. The eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukah, which celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian army, begins Dec. 16.

Kristin Murray a student at Florida A&M University, writes for the Famuan.

Posted Dec. 11, 2006