VOA标准英语2011--'Holiday Season' Includes Secular Kwanzaa

'Holiday Season' Includes Secular¹ Kwanzaa

 

When Americans talk about the “holiday season,” it’s understood that this includes the Christian² Christmas, the Jewish Hanukkah, and the secular New Year’s Day.

But 45 years ago, a weeklong celebration joined the parade when the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa was observed for the first time.

Kwanzaa begins the day after Christmas, and celebrates African culture. The word "Kwanzaa" comes from a phrase that means "first fruits" in the Swahili language, and the observance is based in part on the harvest celebrations of ancient Africa.

The seven-day festival was developed in its modern form during the black-nationalist movement of the 1960s by Maulana Karenga, an African-American scholar and activist³. At first he called Kwanzaa an “alternative” to Christmas, which, he said, was a white-people’s holiday.

But it soon became a mainstream⁴ celebration of family, community, and black Americans’ African roots.

The seven tenets of Kwanzaa are unity5, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

Kwanzaa festivities include stories, poetry, music, feasting and gift-giving. A candle is lit on each of the festival's nights to represent seven traditional values of African culture. Those principles are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith.

Kwanzaa symbols include a decorative⁶ mat on which other items are placed. They often include corn, representing the harvest; a candelabra called a “kinara,” holding seven candles; a communal⁷ cup; gifts; a poster of the seven principles; and a black, red, and green Pan-African flag.

Kwanzaa begins on Dec. 26, the day after Christmas, and ends on New Year's Day. Many American communities now include it in their recognition of the holidays of the season.

1 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

4 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

5 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

6 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

7 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。