<P> At first, observers of Kwanzaa avoided the mixing of the holiday or its symbols, values, and practice with other holidays, as doing so would violate the principle of kujichagulia (self - determination) and thus violate the integrity of the holiday, which is partially intended as a reclamation of important African values . Today, many African American families celebrate Kwanzaa along with Christmas and New Year's . Frequently, both Christmas trees and kinaras, the traditional candle holder symbolic of African American roots, share space in Kwanzaa - celebrating households . For people who celebrate both holidays, Kwanzaa is an opportunity to incorporate elements of their particular ethnic heritage into holiday observances and celebrations of Christmas . </P> <P> Cultural exhibitions include the Spirit of Kwanzaa, an annual celebration held at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts featuring interpretive dance, African dance, song and poetry . </P> <P> The National Retail Federation has sponsored a marketing survey on winter holidays since 2004, and in 2015 found that 1.9% of those polled planned to celebrate Kwanzaa--about six million people . In a 2006 speech, Maulana Karenga asserted that 28 million people celebrate Kwanzaa . He has always claimed it is celebrated all over the world . Lee D. Baker puts the number at 12 million . The African American Cultural Center claimed 30 million in 2009 . </P> <P> According to University of Minnesota Professor Keith Mayes, the author of Kwanzaa: Black Power and the Making of the African - American Holiday Tradition, the popularity within the U.S. has "leveled off" as the black power movement there has declined, and as of 2009 between 500 thousand and two million Americans celebrated Kwanzaa, or between one and five percent of African Americans . Mayes added that white institutions now celebrate it . </P>

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