There’s always Festivus for those who are fond of made-up holiday’s.
(The Root) — A lone Christmas tree on a makeshift pedestal stands prominently in the center of Howard University’s main quadrangle, which is uncharacteristically empty during the first week of December. Students rush by to make it to their exams on time, with the tree serving as a reminder of the holiday traditions that await them after their last final. But for one Howard student, this evergreen emblem doesn’t represent the true essence of the holiday spirit.
“My mother, she was very hard on trying to make us celebrate Kwanzaa. She felt that it was more important than Christmas,” Howard student Jasper Henderson told The Root. “Kwanzaa has more definition of life — Christmas is just presents.”
Not everyone feels the same as Henderson and his mom. According to an unscientific poll of 472 of The Root’s readers, only 35 percent of respondents currently observe Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday based on seven principles that is celebrated over the last week of the year. Half of all respondents have participated in such celebrations at least once in their lives.
Only 45 percent of all respondents believe that Kwanzaa is a real holiday. While thoughts on Kwanzaa’s validity were split down the middle among Millennials, those born between 1965 and 1981 were most likely to not consider Kwanzaa a true holiday — even though almost a third of them celebrate the holiday themselves.