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| 2009 |
According to the official site of Kwanzaa:
Kwanzaa is an African American an pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. It was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of Africana Studies. Kwanzaa, a seven-day cultural festival, begins December 26 and ends January 1. It joins communitarian values and practices of Continental African and African American culture.
During the holiday, families and communities organize activities around the Nguzo Saba (The Seven Principles): Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (Self-determination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity) and Imani (Faith). Participants also celebrate with feasts (karamu), music, dance, poetry, narratives and end the holiday with a day dedicated to reflection and recommitment to The Seven Principles and other central cultural values.
It sounds like a great festival! USPS issued the first Kwanzaa stamp in 1997, and has issued 14 stamps since then (of which I have got these three).
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| 2018 |
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| 2016 |
Kwanzaa is totally new to me.
ReplyDeleteI only knew about it when I got the first of these stamps.
DeleteI've seen a couple of stamps and wondered what it was. I wouldn't have guessed there had been 14 issued.
ReplyDeleteThere is a 2020 issue. You can see it here.
DeleteKwanzaa is a holiday I keep hearing lumped in with Christmas and Hanukkah even though it is not a religious holiday. I didn't realize it was a seven day festival.
ReplyDeleteYou're still on time to celebrate it :D
DeleteI have (and love) the 3rd stamp, and also love the other stamp designs.
ReplyDeleteSimilar to x-mas stamps and Chinese zodiac stamps, I think USPS should issue Kwanzaa stamps yearly, too :-)
Do you happen to know if USPS ever issued stamps about native Americans’ important celebrations? (As far as I can see I’ve never seen stamps about that, so far)
I've seen some stamps about people and culture, but not exactly about celebrations. You can see a collection of those stamps here (The first stamps are about people, then art and traditions).
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