Why does Kwanzaa get more respect than Yule?

Question

Hestia's Princess: do you really think so? I'd love to see some stats, personally.

The only somewhat-reliable numbers I could find, showed about 4.7million Americans celebrate Kwanzaa. About 3 million celebrate "Other" - i.e. not Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, but something. I would assume that most of that is Yule. Plus how many people, in a poll-situation, would say they celebrate "Christmas" but really more in a Yule-manner?

Unless there's 3 million Festivus-observers out there!

Answer 1

It's not a case of respect but rather one of observance based on the cultural makeup of the places we live in. You won't find Kwanzaa celebrations in Nome, Alaska.
It is important to note that both Kwanzaa and Yule have little to do with organized religion and everything to do with celebrating the changing of the seasons and enjoying the bounties of the harvest while cherishing those close to us.
Kwanzaa (Swahili for 'first fruits'), is celebrated by Africans (iaround the globe-more than 20 million people celebrate in the United States, Canada, England, the Caribbean and Africa. The seven-day festival starts the day after Christmas and wraps up on New Year's Day.
Five activities remain central to their ancient 'first fruits harvests' fêtes. 1. The gathering of family, friends, and community; 2. The revering of the creator and creation by giving thanks and re-committing to respect the environment and heal the world);3. The commemorating of the past by honoring ancestors, by learning their lessons and by emulating achievements in African history;4. the re-committing to the achievement of the highest cultural ideals held by the African community such as truthfulness. being just, respecting people and nature, caring for the vulnerable and respecting one's elders. 5.The celebrating of the good in one's life such as the triumph over struggles, achievements, family, community, and culture.
Yule represents the wheel or cycle of life and is celebrated in northern hemisphere countries such as Iceland and Greenland and in the Scandinavian nations of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. One prepares for re-birth over the long dark winter. And hope comes in the form of light, thus the re-appearance of the sun is heralded. Hence the lighting of the Yule log and the Yule Tree to celebrate the light in one' s home.
It's a pity we in North America don't give nature the the recognition it's due.

Answer 2

Yeah, I'd agree with the people who say it's mostly numbers and a cultural thing. Granted, most Blacks in the U$ don't celebrate Kwanzaa (polls alone show this), but I wouldn't even say that "most of the 3 million who celebrate 'Other'" are celebrating Yule.

Take me, for example. I'm an Hellenic Polytheist/Pagan. Yule has nothing to do with my religion, as it's a Germanic and Scandinavian thing. Now, I *have* adopted some ancient Roman holidays, my "Big December holiday" is Saturnalia and Sol Invictus (which is basically an extension of the former). And I'd wager that there are a healthy number of Graeco-Roman pagans, as well as other NeoPagans who place a lot of importance on Graeco-Roman deities, who celebrate Saturnalia rather than Yule -- a much smaller number, definitely, but a proportionately "healthy" handful, nonetheless.

Of course, numbers aside, Kwanzaa also probably gets a little more "respect" based on the fact that it's kind of like Christmas to many Jews in the U$ -- some figures state that most Amerikan Jews do, in fact, celebrate Christmas as a non-religious/secular and wholly cultural holiday and some even decorate their homes with Christmas symbols that have little, if anything, to do with Jesus -- wreaths of evergreen (an ancient Roman tradition), trees, maybe even Santa-heavy lawn displays.

Kwanzaa, to many Blacks who celebrate it (well, based on what I've read on message boards and LJ and such) doesn't have a specific religion connected to it -- one can be Christian or Muslim or Jewish or even practise Santeria and still celebrate Kwanzaa as it's specifically based on tribal African harvest celebrations and can be inclusive of any religious mythology that one chooses, be it the God of Abraham or the many Gods of the Yoruba people. One can even just be "spiritual" without acknowledging a specific Deity or group of Deities and still celebrate Kwanzaa -- indeed, to most Kwanzaa celebrants, the only requirement is that one be Black. It was designed that way when it was created by Afrocentric leaders in the late 1960s, and that intentional "quirk" is what's made it considerably popular among certain African-Amerikan communities.

Yule (and other Pagan/Polytheist/Neopagan December holidays), on the other hand, is a specific Pagan thing (at least among people who know that "Yule" is not synonymous for "Christmas") and, unless you're a Llewellyn Publishing variety McWiccan, it has a very specific pantheon connected to it. Yeah, Christmas has borrowed a lot of Yule traditions (which has arguably helped secularise Christmas), and many unspecific Neo-Pagans have co-opted Yule for themselves, but that doesn't make Yule any less of a Germanic / Scandinavian *Pagan* holiday.

Answer 3

I think you're just in the wrong place. Where I live I barely hear about Kwanzaa but I know probably 20-25 people who will celebrate Yule.

Answer 4

Because there are way more African Americans in the USA than Neoagans. I doubt there's more than 1 million Neopagans that celebrate Yule (2 million would be an extremely liberal estimate), while there are roughly 40 million African Americans here.

Answer 5

My own theory is that of "anti-racism". Usually anything considered to be "black" culturally is left alone and unquestioned. Also, I think Yule isn't quite as well-know. Outside of our wonderful little world of R&S pagans, people really aren't completely sure what Yule is. Not everyone knows that it was what Christmas was based upon, not everyone knows that we still celebrate it... etc.

The number of people who celebrate (openly) might come into play as well.

Answer 6

Better PR and it spread as a cultural thing.

As you can tell by the Christmas questions - there are a LOT of people that don't even know what the word Yule is about and that it's different than the christian holiday.

Answer 7

There are more Blacks than Pagans who celebrate Yule. NO discrimination intended, it's just a simply matter of numbers. Nothing more, nothing less.

Brightest Blessings,
Raji the Green Witch

Answer 8

It's name alone kicks a ss.

Answer 9

Probably because it is celebrated by more people....

Answer 10

marketing