There are many questions about Kwanzaa. Probably the most common is 'what the heck is Kwanzaa?' Considering it's not what some people would call a mainstream holiday or an ancient one, it's understandable for there to be confusion about it. Kwanzaa was first created in 1966 as an alternative to Christmas, to be a holiday to celebrated exclusively by African-Americans. Though since then, the initial idea has grown bigger and now it's celebrated across the globe, mainly in African communities, but not exclusively for African descendants.
Kwanzaa was inspired by the First Fruit festivals in Southern Africa, a harvest celebration taking place around the southern solstice. Kwanzaa's name is derived from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning 'first fruits'. An additional 'a' was added so that Kwanzaa would have a symbolic seven letters. There are also seven principles that are celebrated during Kwanzaa:
Umoja: Unity
Kujichagulia: Self-Determination
Ujima: Collective Work and Responsibility
Ujamaa: Cooperative economics
Nia: Purpose
Kuumba: Creativity
Imani: Faith
And after a year like 2020, these principles were sorely needed, particularly Ujamaa. There was still a problem of locusts that has been plaguing much of Africa since the start of 2020. It was hard to say if there was an end in sight regarding the locust infestation, but at least the United Nations were trying to help out the people who in danger of starvation. Many solutions have been suggested for dealing with the locusts, including spraying where they're most likely to lay eggs, having huge flocks of ducks eat them, or trapping the locusts and processing them into chicken feed.
But at least Maelewano can put aside their concerns for a while so they can celebrate Kwanzaa. There was lots of very festive music and feasting. Much like Christmas, there was gift-exchanging, thought Kwanzaa gifts tended to be more practical or educational. There was also the wearing of colorful dashikis, which was perfectly normal in most of Africa. Of course, when Animalians are wearing them, there tended to be big alterations.
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"I know you're getting into the spirit of the holiday," said one of the human members of Maelewano's council, "But don't you think this is a little inappropriate?"
"What do you mean?" asked Rosie, "Are you saying women can't wear a dashiki?" She was festively wearing a dashiki, like many others. However, while the dashiki traditionally has a V-neck, Rosie's was considerably lower than average, which exposed quite a lot of her cleavage.
"I'm not saying that," said the councilman, "But you leave yourself rather...exposed."
Rosie gave a small snort and said, "There's a section of Maelewano where women can go completely topless if they want to and you're concerned because I'm nearly exposed?"
"I suppose that does sound silly in comparison," said the councilman, "I just worried about something traditional getting too sexualized."
"People have been making dashikis sexy long before Animalia came around," said Rosie, "And Animalians aren't ashamed to hide their bodies. We may take local feelings into consideration, like in New Zerzura, but we aren't afraid to express ourselves. But I don't think we're disgracing anything just by living a little more loosely."
The councilman sighed and said, "I suppose so. I guess I'm just wound up from this stressful year."
"And that's why we're celebrating," said Rosie, "Despite how bad it's been this last year, the new year can only be better."