<Tr> <Th> Date </Th> <Td> December 26 to January 1 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Related to </Th> <Td> Pan-Africanism </Td> </Tr> <P> Kwanzaa (/ ˈkwɑːn. zə /) is a celebration held in the United States and in other nations of the African diaspora in the Americas and lasts a week . The celebration honors African heritage in African - American culture and is observed from December 26 to January 1, culminating in a feast and gift - giving . Kwanzaa has seven core principles (Nguzo Saba). It was created by Maulana Karenga and was first celebrated in 1966--67 . </P> <P> Maulana Karenga, also known as Ronald McKinley Everett, created Kwanzaa in 1966, as the first specifically African - American holiday, (but see also Juneteenth). According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits of the harvest", although a more conventional translation would simply be "first fruits". The choice of Swahili, an East African language, reflects its status as a symbol of Pan-Africanism, especially in the 1960s, although most of the Atlantic slave trade that brought African people to America originated in West Africa . First fruits festivals exist in Southern Africa, celebrated in December / January with the southern solstice, and Karenga was partly inspired by an account he read of the Zulu festival Umkhosi Wokweshwama . It was decided to spell the holiday's name with an additional "a" so that it would have a symbolic seven letters . </P>

When was kwanzaa first celebrated in the united states