Habari Gani – what’s the news – about Kwanzaa? Truthfully, the week-long holiday doesn’t get as much shine in the public eye as its December counterparts. The first Kwanzaa holiday film was produced in 2009, there are only two USPS stamps in existence and the White House didn’t even celebrate it last year! If you have your doubts about the harvest celebration, read on to see what’s true…and what’s false:

1. It’s been around for a while

Not so much. Kwanzaa was created in 1966, right before the height of the Black Power movement and during the heart of Pan-Africanism.

2. It originated in Africa

Though the celebration has African roots, Kwanzaa was created in the United States – California to be exact. Kwanzaa creator Maulana Karenga was an Africana Studies professor at California State University, Long Beach at the time.

3. It’s only for Black people

Yes, Karenga wanted a holiday for Blacks to reconnect with their heritage during a controversial era. No, it’s not exclusive.

4. You can’t observe other holidays

Kwanzaa changed many of its rules over the years. Karenga shunned Christianity at first, but all religions are welcome to observe Kwanzaa now. Many homes have their kinaras (candle holder) right next to their Christmas trees.

5. Food and gifts are only of African descent

Well, this one is mostly true. As Kwanzaa is an African-inspired holiday, many of its elements relate to the continent. The name Kwanzaa comes from a Swahili phrase that means first fruits of the harvest. The seven principles of Kwanzaa – Umoja, Kujichagulia, Ujima, Ujamaa, Nia, Kuumba, and  Imani – are also from Swahili. However, families merge their American culture and traditions however they see fit. Classic soul food is consumed and regular gifts are given along with traditional ones.

6. It’s a knockoff Hanukkah

Now this one’s just silly. This assumption stems from the fact that both holidays use candles as symbols – Hanukkah uses a menorah with white candles while Kwanzaa uses a kinara with red, black and green ones. Hanukkah is religious while Kwanzaa is more spiritual. However, both holidays promote unity, love and cultural pride. Nothing wrong with that!

7. It’s a fake holiday

There’s surely nothing artificial about millions of people that celebrate the holiday every year. Kwanzaa’s in its 45^th year of existence. It’s bound to grow bigger and better as time progresses.

In my last blog, I wrote about the splendors of holiday hookups. (If you haven’t read it yet, get on it!) Now that most of us have exhausted the extent of our winter break hook-ups, I thought I’d take a second look at this most treasured of holiday traditions. As it turns out, there are a few things that actually can go wrong…

The Parent Thing: Even though we’ve moved out, most of us hate the thought of our parents knowing anything about our sex lives. This proves to be a huge problem when you’re actually hooking up under their roof. Nothing makes you feel like you’re back in high school more than tip-toeing through your house with a guy in tow. If you stay at his house, on the other hand, you run the risk of being discovered by his Mom and becoming “that slut” that’s sleeping with her baby.

The Small Town Thing: No matter how big of a city you live in, you can’t deny that we live in a very, very small world. And nothing proves that more true than a hometown hookup rumor spreading like a wildfire. I swear, once one person finds out and spills the beans, it’s all over. You can bet by the end of the week anybody and everybody, from his Mom to your 8th grade woodshop teacher, will know of your little rendezvous(s). Or, if you’re like me and accidentally leave a hickey on his neck, you don’t even need anybody to say anything for the entire world to know. My bad.

The High School History Thing: This is slightly related to the Small Town Thing. If you and your hookup of choice are from the same town or high school, it is very likely that they have been involved with other people that you know. Just be sure that if you’re hooking up with someone, that you’re not gonna piss off your or your partner’s ex-lovers, best friends, or relatives. I learned this puppy the hard way, and believe me, it really sucks.

The DTR Thing: By DTR, I mean the loved and loathed “Define The Relationship” conversation. Once you start hooking up, you and your guy are going to have to discuss where you want your relationship is and where you want it to go. This holds especially true if you’re hooking up with someone you’ve already been involved with. Do you want to get back together or stay friends with benefits? Hookups during school breaks put an expiration date on any affairs, often speeding up the onset of the DTR and the difficult questions that ensue.

Did anybody else run into obstacles with their holiday hook-ups? Or am I just severely crippled in the suave department?