West Virginia (CNN) Today marks the first day of the week-long celebration of Kwanzaa.
The African-American holiday continues through January.
Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor of pan-african studies at California State University, created the holiday in 1966 as a non-religious celebration of family and social values.
Karenga designed it as a way for African Americans to reconnect with ancestral roots by celebrating African culture.
The aim was for the holiday to expand and be celebrated by people of African ancestry all over the world.
The name Kwanzaa is derived from a Swahili phrase that means “first fruits.”
Each day of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the seven defining principles.
They are unity, self-determination, collective responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.
Each night, celebrants light a new candle on a seven-branched candelabra.
On December 31, participants take part in a feast.
