Have you ever heard something on the radio that pissed you off
Have you ever heard something on the radio that pissed you off?
Yesterday, I was in a particulary good mood. Well as good a mood as I can be in considering the company that I had to work with. Anyhow I was listening to 97.1fm, The Motor City Mid Day Show. Now, I don't know if it was a replay show or what not, but the topic of conversation was VERY relavant.
You see...I love Christmas. Hell I am a BIG kid around Christmas time. Matter of fact, this blog was going to be my "Christmas Wish List" to Santa but I felt that I had to get this off my chest and maybe be relavant to your life and or feelings.
See, apparently Wal-Mart has told their greeters that they want them to evaulate and ascess their customer and make a judgement on how to greet them this holiday season..Whether it be...Merry Christmas (The way I think it should be) Happy Hanukkah, Or Happy Kwanzaa. To me this is racial profiling and well....Why not just say Happy Holidays? Apparenty there was some backlash last year for retailers from the Christian Coalition by being boycotted.
See it pisses me off because, Schools have already changed things...I mean have you heard..."We Wish You a Happy Holiday?" and changed the spelling from CHRISTmas To Chrismas.
Its a holiday people...It is a celebration of the birth of Christ. The problem is that the holiday has been so commercialized that people feel that people are insulting THEM to wish them the standard greeting for CHRISTMAS.
So this got me to wondering about Kwanzaa and what that holiday is. To me, I don't know about anyone else, but this holiday to me is fairly new and I didn't know to much about it. Now I am not saying this to be racist before people jump to that conclusion, but I wanted to know what the hell it is because, I for one have never celebrated it...Here is what I found:
This celebration is not a festival originating in any of the 55 African countries nor is it an "African" Christmas celebration. Kwanzaa is an African-Americans celebration of life from 26 December to 1 January.
Dr. Maulana Karenga introduced the festival in 1966 to the United States as a ritual to welcome the first harvests to the home. Dr. Karenga created this festival for Afro-Americans as a response to the commercialism of Christmas. In fact one might say that Kwanzaa has similarities with Thanksgiving in the United States or the Yam Festival in Ghana and Nigeria. The word "kwanza" is a KiSwahili (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) word meaning "first."
Five common sets of values are central to the activities of the week: ingathering, reverence, commemoration, recommitment, and celebration. The seven principles (nguzo saba) of Kwanzaa utilize Kiswahili words: unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba), and faith (imani). Each of the seven candles signify the principles. Like the Jewish Hannakah, candles are used to represent concepts of the holiday.
The symbols of Kwanzaa includes crops (mzao) which represents the historical roots of African-Americans in agriculture and also the reward for collective labor. The mat (mkeka) lays the foundation for self- actualization. The candle holder (kinara) reminds believers in the ancestral origins in one of 55 African countries. Corn/maize (muhindi) signifies children and the hope associated in the younger generation. Gifts (Zawadi) represent commitments of the parents for the children. The unity cup (Kkimbe cha Umoja) is used to pour libations to the ancestors. Finally, the seven candles (mishumaa saba) remind participants of the severl pinciples and the colors in flags of African liberation movements -- 3 red, 1 black, and 3 green.
Gifts are exchanged. On 31 December participants celebrate with a banquet of food often cuisine from various African countries. Participants greet one another with "Habari gani" which is Kiswahili for "how are you/ how's the news with you?"
The point of Kwanzaa is not one of gift giving or religious celebration, but a commemoration of heritage and togetherness. Family and friends should find Kwanzaa to be a time of sharing and pulling together. The guiding principles teach values we tend to lose in a more modern and solitary society. Since the original ideas were to bring forth the harvest, the guiding principles bring people together to remind us how important we are to each other.
So, to me, it is not a Christmas celebration. Christmas is a TOTALLY different holiday then Kwanzaa, so for anyone to be insulted by the greeting Merry Christmas is totally stupid....It is different holidays. To me...Kwanzaa is a lot like Thanksgiving...Seriously look a the way the candles are lit.
Day 1 - middle candle - Black - Umoja - Unity
Day 2 - innermost red candle - Kujichagulia - Self-determination
Day 3 - innermost green candle - Ujima - Collective Work and Responsibility
Day 4 - middle red candle - Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics
Day 5 - middle green candle - Nia - Purpose
Day 6 - outermost red candle - Kuumba - Creativity
Day 7 - outermost green candle - Imani - Faith
But, what it all boils down to between Christmas and Kwanzaa is that they are two totally different holidays and no one should have to differenciat between people to determine what Religion they are. What Race they are. What Holiday they celebrate, because what every holiday holds true is unity.
And with that I say "MERRY CHRISTMAS"!!!
Okay so I am early...Bah LMAO
Levi BLue
Yesterday, I was in a particulary good mood. Well as good a mood as I can be in considering the company that I had to work with. Anyhow I was listening to 97.1fm, The Motor City Mid Day Show. Now, I don't know if it was a replay show or what not, but the topic of conversation was VERY relavant.
You see...I love Christmas. Hell I am a BIG kid around Christmas time. Matter of fact, this blog was going to be my "Christmas Wish List" to Santa but I felt that I had to get this off my chest and maybe be relavant to your life and or feelings.
See, apparently Wal-Mart has told their greeters that they want them to evaulate and ascess their customer and make a judgement on how to greet them this holiday season..Whether it be...Merry Christmas (The way I think it should be) Happy Hanukkah, Or Happy Kwanzaa. To me this is racial profiling and well....Why not just say Happy Holidays? Apparenty there was some backlash last year for retailers from the Christian Coalition by being boycotted.
See it pisses me off because, Schools have already changed things...I mean have you heard..."We Wish You a Happy Holiday?" and changed the spelling from CHRISTmas To Chrismas.
Its a holiday people...It is a celebration of the birth of Christ. The problem is that the holiday has been so commercialized that people feel that people are insulting THEM to wish them the standard greeting for CHRISTMAS.
So this got me to wondering about Kwanzaa and what that holiday is. To me, I don't know about anyone else, but this holiday to me is fairly new and I didn't know to much about it. Now I am not saying this to be racist before people jump to that conclusion, but I wanted to know what the hell it is because, I for one have never celebrated it...Here is what I found:
This celebration is not a festival originating in any of the 55 African countries nor is it an "African" Christmas celebration. Kwanzaa is an African-Americans celebration of life from 26 December to 1 January.
Dr. Maulana Karenga introduced the festival in 1966 to the United States as a ritual to welcome the first harvests to the home. Dr. Karenga created this festival for Afro-Americans as a response to the commercialism of Christmas. In fact one might say that Kwanzaa has similarities with Thanksgiving in the United States or the Yam Festival in Ghana and Nigeria. The word "kwanza" is a KiSwahili (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) word meaning "first."
Five common sets of values are central to the activities of the week: ingathering, reverence, commemoration, recommitment, and celebration. The seven principles (nguzo saba) of Kwanzaa utilize Kiswahili words: unity (umoja), self-determination (kujichagulia), collective work and responsibility (ujima), cooperative economics (ujamaa), purpose (nia), creativity (kuumba), and faith (imani). Each of the seven candles signify the principles. Like the Jewish Hannakah, candles are used to represent concepts of the holiday.
The symbols of Kwanzaa includes crops (mzao) which represents the historical roots of African-Americans in agriculture and also the reward for collective labor. The mat (mkeka) lays the foundation for self- actualization. The candle holder (kinara) reminds believers in the ancestral origins in one of 55 African countries. Corn/maize (muhindi) signifies children and the hope associated in the younger generation. Gifts (Zawadi) represent commitments of the parents for the children. The unity cup (Kkimbe cha Umoja) is used to pour libations to the ancestors. Finally, the seven candles (mishumaa saba) remind participants of the severl pinciples and the colors in flags of African liberation movements -- 3 red, 1 black, and 3 green.
Gifts are exchanged. On 31 December participants celebrate with a banquet of food often cuisine from various African countries. Participants greet one another with "Habari gani" which is Kiswahili for "how are you/ how's the news with you?"
The point of Kwanzaa is not one of gift giving or religious celebration, but a commemoration of heritage and togetherness. Family and friends should find Kwanzaa to be a time of sharing and pulling together. The guiding principles teach values we tend to lose in a more modern and solitary society. Since the original ideas were to bring forth the harvest, the guiding principles bring people together to remind us how important we are to each other.
So, to me, it is not a Christmas celebration. Christmas is a TOTALLY different holiday then Kwanzaa, so for anyone to be insulted by the greeting Merry Christmas is totally stupid....It is different holidays. To me...Kwanzaa is a lot like Thanksgiving...Seriously look a the way the candles are lit.
Day 1 - middle candle - Black - Umoja - Unity
Day 2 - innermost red candle - Kujichagulia - Self-determination
Day 3 - innermost green candle - Ujima - Collective Work and Responsibility
Day 4 - middle red candle - Ujamaa - Cooperative Economics
Day 5 - middle green candle - Nia - Purpose
Day 6 - outermost red candle - Kuumba - Creativity
Day 7 - outermost green candle - Imani - Faith
But, what it all boils down to between Christmas and Kwanzaa is that they are two totally different holidays and no one should have to differenciat between people to determine what Religion they are. What Race they are. What Holiday they celebrate, because what every holiday holds true is unity.
And with that I say "MERRY CHRISTMAS"!!!
Okay so I am early...Bah LMAO
Levi BLue