By Pamela Moye

Are you one of those who mistakenly believes that Kwanzaa and Chanukah are respectively the African American and Jewish alternatives to Christmas? Well, neither holiday has anything to do with Christmas, let alone Christ. Interestingly, this is not the only thing they have in common.

Cuisine: Meals with traditional fried foods. Kwanzaa- ‘soul food’ such as fried chicken, hush puppies, and crab cakes. Chanukah- latkes, fried doughnuts, fried savory foods.

Candelabrum: Kwanzaa-a seven-branched kinara, representing the seven founding principles of the holiday. Chanukah- a nine-branched Hanukiah or Chanukkiyah, symbolizing the eight days of the oil miracle and one to light each day (a menorah is the 7-pronged version used throughout the year).

Cultural Focus: Kwanzaa- preserving traditional African cultural and family values. Chanukah- commemorating the triumph of the Talmud’s spiritual values and rekindling the temple menorah in Jerusalem after the Greeks tried to eradicate the Jews- basically preserving traditional Jewish cultural and family values.

Gifts: Kwanzaa- affordable, educational, often home-made, exchanged between families. Chanukah- traditionally, Chanukah gelt: money given to children by relatives, but now many families exchange small tokens.

That might be where the similarities end, but you likely never considered that there were any to begin with.

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