The hustle and bustle of Christmas is over, but in the Wardford home one of their most treasured holidays – the seven days of Kwanzaa – begins today.

The Wardfords are among many families who celebrate the holiday that centers on principles dear to the heritage and hope of African-American people.

Historian and social activist Maulana Karenga started Kwanzaa 40 years ago in his home state of California. It rapidly spread from a little-known occurrence there to multifaceted festivities celebrated by millions of black people and others throughout America and beyond.

The Wardfords’ Kwanzaa

This marks the 15th year the Wardfords have celebrated Kwanzaa with family and friends.

Like many families, Jeff and Jeanne Wardford and their children incorporate the cultural holiday’s basic customs but add their own flavor.

A table in their spacious Detroit home displays the traditional Kwanzaa items, including a basket of fresh fruit, a Unity cup and ears of corn that represent the fruits of labor, the blessing of children, a bountiful crop and the growth and strength of a strong, united people. Most important, however, is a kinara, a set of seven candles, each one representing one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

The Wardfords also accent their table with art and artifacts to symbolize their connection to Africa, beautifully framed photographs in memory of deceased relatives, a block of cotton to honor the triumph over slavery and a photo of their family to represent the promise of the future.

“We celebrate Kwanzaa as a way of paying respect to our ancestors who we’ve been able to trace back as far as the 1600s,” says Jeff Wardford, chief operating officer of his own corporate company, Taylarmade Consulting, which advises companies on restructuring.

“Although it’s a seven-day celebration, we embrace the principles as principles to live by every day.”

Denise Hightower, left, and her daughter Clarissa Jackson set their dining room table with Kwanzaa decorations Monday in Wichita. The seven-day celebration begins today.

Instilling values

Jean Wardford says Kwanzaa became important to them as their children grew older. It provides a positive way for them to instill key values in their children and introduce them to relatives who’ve passed on. Not only do they display the photos of deceased relatives each year, they tell stories to make sure their children grow up knowing the ancestors they continue to represent.

“It’s a way of keeping them alive,” says Jean Wardford, who does real estate development and consulting work for nonprofit community groups. “When we invite others to our Kwanzaa celebration, we encourage them to bring photos of relatives as well. Kwanzaa is a way of building stronger bonds within families as well as within the wider community.”

Background

Kwanzaa, a Swahili term meaning “first fruits,” takes its name from African societies that have large festivals to celebrate the harvesting of the year’s first big crop.

Swahili words and phrases are used to emphasize the African connection to the holiday born in America.

Customarily, a candle is lit each day and activities are done to reinforce the principle of the day.

However, some families such as the Wardfords have one big Kwanzaa celebration during the week. This year’s celebration will be Friday.

They invite family and friends for a gathering at which all the candles are lit, each principle is discussed and various activities express the principles ranging from storytelling, tributes to their ancestors, entertainment by their children and others, and sharing of food.

“Every year it’s a little bit different, and we all look forward to it,” Jean Wardford says.

As their children have grown older they’ve taken a more active role in leading and participating in the planning and discussion.

“I think I was in about the fourth grade when I really began to appreciate and understand what it was all about,” says Jeff Wardford Jr., 19, a student at Dillard University in New Orleans. “That was the year I memorized all the principles and it started to click.”

The annual celebration has grown in numbers as well, ranging anywhere from 60 to 100 people.

In addition to paying tribute to their ancestors and those of the guests gathered, their ceremony also includes praise for accomplishments of the past year, such as graduations, weddings and births.

“We lift each up, talk about and express thanks for our blessings and the blessing of our extended family,” Jeff Wardford says. “We also offer prayers of protection for those in special need, such as a niece who’s serving in the Peace Corps in Honduras.”

Principles

The seven principles begin today with Umoja, which stands for Unity.

Umoja is the principle that resonates most with their oldest son, Damon, 34.

“It’s just so important in our families and in our communities,” Damon says.

Robert, 17, says the Umoja principle also means a lot to him because unity is one of the things he seeks to accomplish through his involvement in youth activities. He’s president of his senior class at University Prep High School in Detroit and serves on several youth advisory boards.

Taylar, 13, the Wardfords’ youngest child and only daughter, says Kuumba is her favorite principle because it’s about creativity. “I like that one because I like expressing myself creatively. I dance. I enjoy creating sculptures and I paint.”

Jeff Wardford says because Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday – not a religious one – it readily allows people of various religions to come together. For example, their oldest son, Damon, 34, and his wife, Huda, 29, are Muslim and enjoy the holiday as much as other family members who are Christian.

In some ways, the Wardfords say, Kwanzaa is no different from the family gatherings common in black homes for generations.

“There’s always been an emphasis on families coming together and spiritual values,” Jeff Wardford says. “We talk about ‘it takes a village.’ This is about building a village in our homes and in our hearts.”