Christmas and New Year might be the talking point for most people at the moment but there's another festival of interest to thousands of people in Nottinghamshire.

Kwame Osei is an Afrikan Historian and Director of East Midlands African-Caribbean Arts (EMACA). He explains what Kwanzaa is all about.

Is Kwanzaa a Black Christmas?
That is the first question one is always asked in reference to celebrating Kwanzaa.

Kwanzaa is not a Black Christmas – Kwanzaa is a festival based on a variety of Afrikan traditions and culture that celebrate and represents the family as a unit and the community as a whole.

The word Kwanzaa is derived from the Kiswahili Matunda Ya Kwanzaa meaning ‘the celebration of the first fruits’.

The concept is to celebrate Afrikan racial and cultural pride and self- affirmation based on Afrikan values and belief systems and is observed for seven days between December 26th to January 1st.

Although Kwanzaa is very close to Christmas it is not a substitute nor is it the equivalent of Christmas.

It is celebrated at this time because it coincides with the reaping of crops and harvest celebration in Afrika. Its relative closeness to Christmas is just sheer coincidence.

There are seven principles known as the Nguzosaba that are associated with Kwanzaa.

What Kwanzaa means to me
Kwanzaa is important to me because it reaffirms my identity, culture and heritage as an Afrikan person residing in the UK.

It is also important because it allows the family and community to come together, which symbolises oneness, togetherness and unity – the foundation of nationhood.

It is also important as it enables me to pause and reflect to see how well I have applied the aforementioned principles in my life during the course of the year and to identify areas of improvement for applying these principles.

Kwanzaa is a significant event in our calendar because it affords the opportunity for the Afrikan community in England/Nottingham to celebrate an occasion that is poignant to our cultural heritage, value and belief systems.

It allows the community as a whole to reflect and focus on the sacrifices made by our ancestors in order for the current generation to enjoy the life they have today and to ensure that future generations never forget those sacrifices as eloquently expressed in the Afrikan adage “I am because we are”.

Kwanzaa also allows us to celebrate the achievements of our ancestors and to use this as a basis to ensure that we, the current generation, learn from these achievements in order that future generations can have a brighter and prosperous future.

Kwame Osei is proud of the lasting traditions of Kwanzaa

Personal memories
My fondest memory of Kwanzaa's gone by was when I was a child growing up in Afrika.

Back home, Kwanzaa is a big thing and all the family, including extended family, makes every effort to ensure they are there for the duration of the festival.

Apart from the climate, celebrating Kwanzaa in Afrika is very special indeed – maybe it's the whole ambience that is Afrika!

On one Kwanzaa, I used the principle of Kuumba (creativity) to good effect by preparing a meal for my parents and extended family, which they enjoyed immensely and I was extremely proud that I had accomplished such a feat.

Another profound memory of Kwanzaa's gone by was listening intently to the stories and parables that the elders spoke of.

Not only were the messages in these parables symbolic but also one acquired a degree of wisdom and knowledge that one could apply in their own lives and this value system has remained with me so that when I have children I will be able to impart that wisdom and knowledge to them for their betterment.