Kwanzaa is a non-religious holiday, which was begun to celebrate African-American heritage, pride, community, family, and culture.

It is a seven-day festival, which commences on Boxing Day and culminates on New Year's Day.

Kwanzaa was initially inspired by the civil rights struggles of the 1960s and is based on ancient African celebrations.

The celebration has become increasingly popular over the last decade and now more than 20 million people celebrate in the United States, Canada, England, the Caribbean and Africa.

Kwanzaa's ancient roots lie in African first-fruit harvest celebrations, from which it takes its name.

The word Kwanzaa is derived from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza," which means "first fruits".

Those roots are the foundation on which the modern holiday was built.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, an African-American scholar and activist, conceived Kwanzaa in 1966 following the Watts riot.

Currently, Karenga is chairman of the Department of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach.

After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to bring African-Americans together as a community.

He then founded a cultural organisation, and started to research African "first fruit" (harvest) celebrations.

With this, he then combined aspects of several different harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti, mainly found in Ghana, and those of the Zulu, a South African tribe, to form the basis of Kwanzaa.

Each family celebrates Kwanzaa in its own way, but celebrations often include songs and dances, African drums, storytelling, poetry reading, and a large traditional meal. On each of the seven nights, the family gathers and a child lights one of the candles on the Kinara or candleholder, then one of the seven principles is discussed.

The principles, called the Nguzo Saba (seven principles in Swahili) are values of African culture, which contribute to building and reinforcing community among African-Americans.

An African feast, called a Karamu, is then held on December 31. Every evening there is a candle-lighting ceremony, which provides the opportunity to gather and discuss the meaning of Kwanzaa. On the first night, the black candle in the centre is lit and the principle of umoja or unity is discussed. One candle is lit each evening and the appropriate principle is discussed. For more information on Kwanzaa "The Complete Kwanzaa Celebrating Our Cultural Harvest" by Dorothy Winbush Riley will have more information.