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.

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).