Kwanzaa

or Kwan·za

[ kwahn-zuh ]

noun

, plural Kwan·zaas.

1. a harvest festival celebrated from December 26th until January 1st in some African American communities.

Kwanzaa

/ ˈkwænzɑː /

noun

1. a seven-day festival beginning on Dec 26 when African-Americans celebrate family, community, and culture

Word History and Origins

Origin of Kwanzaa¹

First recorded in 1965–70; from Swahili kwanza “first, firstly”; short for matunda ya kwanza, “first fruits (of the harvest)” (the spelling -za was changed to -zaa to lengthen the word so that each of the seven children who were first taught the festival would have their own letter)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Kwanzaa¹

C20: from Swahili ( matunda ya ) kwanza first (fruits)