AMERICUS — Most holidays celebrated in December revolve around religion — but not Kwanzaa.

The holiday, celebrated by millions of people with African lineage, is based on elements of the first harvest celebration in Africa.

It’s a time for honoring ancestors to most who celebrate. According to a study conducted in 2004, by the National Retail Foundation, about 1.4 percent of America’s population observes the cultural holiday.

But according to Sumter County Branch National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s vice president, Eugene Mikyel Edge, Kwanzaa is not about purchasing gifts for people. There are seven days in Kwanzaa, and each day people who celebrate the holiday honor different traditions.

“Each day, there’s a gift given, but it’s not anything that anyone purchases,” Edge said. “We hand-make our gifts. To me, it’s to get away from the over-commercialization of Christmas.”

The only things Edge purchases are the materials to make his gifts.

“I’ve made jewelry boxes, picture frames, sometimes neck ties,” Edge said. “It’s really about my family. It’s special.”

Edge and his family have celebrated Kwanzaa for 20 years. Although his parents don’t celebrate the holiday, they accept and honor his holiday.

He, along with his wife Charmaine and their children, Alex, 26, who lives in Plains, Aphroditife, 22, who attends Columbus State University, Rashadyya, 15, Melvin, 12, Shakirah, 10, and Meliachi, 9, will gather at his Americus home Dec. 26 -Jan. 1 to celebrate the week-long holiday.

The family will feast daily on traditional foods, such as chicken and sausage gumbo with rice, coconut biscuits, fried okra and sweet potato pie.

“My favorite is the curry chicken my wife makes,” Edge said.

Edge and his family will decorate their home with corn shucks, homemade baskets filled with homemade sweets and candles.

Their centerpiece will be the kinara, similar to Jews’ menorah, which is a seven-tiered candle holder. The left three holders will hold red candles; the right three will hold green candles, and the middle, the tallest candle, is black. Each day, a candle is lighted, altering red and green each day, and the black is left for the final day.

Each day, thereby each candle, represents a different Kwanzinean issue.

First is Imani, or faith. Second is Kuumba, or creativity, and third is Nai, or purpose. The fourth is cooperative economics, or Ujamaa, and the fifth is collective work and responsibility, or Ujima. The sixth is Kujichagulia, or self-determination and the final, black candle represents unity, or Umoja, which will be celebrated Jan. 1 this year.

The colors were derived from the African flag; the red represents the blood of the African people, the green is hope of new life and for Africa, the motherland and black represents the face of the African people.

Kwanzaa was brought to the United States in 1966, by Maulana Karenga, a professor and chairman of black studies at California State University, Long Beach, after riots in the area. Kartenga wanted to bring blacks together as a community, and chose December because that’s when many crops are harvested in Africa.

Kerenga got the name from the Swahili phrase, “matunda ya kwanza,” which means fresh fruits. Karenga added the “a” to the end of it to represent each of the seven days in the holiday.

“To me, it’s about family coming together and sharing,” Edge said. “That makes it special.”