So before I went on vacation last week I got an e-card from a co-worker whom I very rarely converse with and do not know very well. It was wishing me a Happy Kwanzaa! I was immediately taken aback because I do not celebrate Kwanzaa and was wondering if I had done something, besides being born Black, to make this person think that I do celebrate Kwanzaa. Now in the past my mother and I, like many Black families, experimented with Kwanzaa with some neighboring families but realized it was not our cup of tea. I still sometimes get Kwanzaa cards from Black friends who I know celebrate the holiday. Hell, I even helped to put Kwanzaa celebrations together, not really knowing what I was doing, while I was in college. I'd book a room, or help get funding so the campus could be aware of Kwanzaa. Yet and still I did not celebrate the holiday.
My best bup told me about one time during the holidays she was walking out of Wal-mart and the Salvation Army person ringing the bell made a point to say her way, "Happy Kwanzaa!" Of course best bup had the wtf face. In my situation I politely responded back to my co-worker that I do not celebrate Kwanzaa. The person immediately responded apologetically. Like why not just say "Seasons Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" just to be safe and politically correct?! I don't wish all White people Happy Hanukkah because it is wrong and absurd to assume that all Whites are Jewish. So why assume that all Blacks celebrate Kwanzaa? Then I thought too this person really thought they were doing something special for me by wishing me a Happy Kwanzaa because I asked a few people around the office and no one else got an e-card except me and another Black woman who works in our office. (She does not celebrate Kwanzaa either so we shared a private laugh about the matter.)
Is it really the thought that counts and if so WTF was this person thinking?
