The Art Handler

Kwanzaa is a non-religious, African-American holiday symbolizing the need for a harmonious and principled togetherness in the family, the neighborhood, the nation, and the world.

A nonreligious holiday, Kwanzaa takes place over seven days from December 26 to January 1. 

The holiday draws on African traditions and takes its name from the phrase for "first fruits" in Swahili, a widely spoken African language.

Many of the buttons and stamps in this story are available for you to color in your own expressive style in this Kwanzaa Art Coloring Book, a collaboration between the Smithsonian and Google Arts and Culture.

Kwanzaa is a time for families and communities to take time to remember the past and to celebrate African American culture. On this U.S. postage stamp, a family comes together to light the Kinara. 

Kinara is a Swahili word that means candle holder. The seven candles represent the Seven Principles (or Nguzo Saba) of Kwanzaa.

During this week long holiday, we learn about the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa that help us to continue building and maintaining unified and empowered communities.

The seven guiding principles that Kwanzaa celebrates are Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperation), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity) and Imani (faith).

As noted on this Smithsonian flyer from the 1980s, Kwanzaa was developed by Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga, in the United States. He adapted the principles of African harvest festivals to create a uniquely American celebration.

He emphasized that the principles found in producing the harvest are vital to the building and maintenance of strong and wholesome communities.

Kwanzaa is that time when we reflect on our use of the principles, share and enjoy the fruits of our labor, and recommit ourselves to the collective achievement of a better life for family and community.

In 1967, only one year after Dr. Karenga formulated the Kwanzaa celebration, the Smithsonian opened the Anacostia Neighborhood Museum (now the Anacostia Community Museum) in the former Carver Theater on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave in Washington, DC.

Very soon after opening, the Smithsonian began holding annual Kwanzaa celebrations for the local community.

Since it's origins in the 60s, Kwanzaa has become an integral part of American culture. On October 22, 1997, the Postal Service issued its first Kwanzaa stamp, in Los Angeles, California. It is the second issue in the Holiday Celebrations Series that was begun in 1996 to reflect a different cultural or ethnic holiday each year. 

On October 26, 2007, in New York, New York, the Postal Service issued a 41-cent Kwanzaa stamp designed by Derry Noyes of Washington, DC. The stamp design was previously issued with a 37-cent denomination in 2004 and with a 39-cent denomination in 2006.

On October 9, 2009, in New York, New York, at the Mega Stamp Show, the Postal Service issued a 44-cent Kwanzaa stamp in a pressure-sensitive adhesive pane of twenty. This was the third stamp design issued by the U.S. Postal Service in celebration of Kwanzaa.