When Christmas passes, for many, Kwanzaa celebrations are just beginning.

It is a time when many African-Americans gather to celebrate family, community and culture.

Section: Holidays

What may surprise many people is that, while the holiday was created in the 1960s, the traditions date back centuries to the African continent.

It is not a religious holiday, but a cultural one that is available to and practiced by Africans of all religious faiths who come together based on the rich, ancient and varied common ground of their Africanness.

Kwanzaa -- a Swahili word that means "first fruits of the harvest" -- is traditionally observed from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a black studies professor at California State University at Long Beach, the holiday focuses on the traditional African values of family, community responsibility, commerce and self-improvement.

Kwanzaa's weeklong observance sets aside each day for reflection on one of the seven principles blacks believe they should live by, called the Nquzo Saba. They include: umoja (unity); kujichagulia (self-determination); ujima (collective work and responsibility); ujamaa (cooperative economics); nia (purpose); kuumba (creativity); and imani (faith).