For many, this is simply the week after Christmas, a time for gift exchanges and New Year’s resolutions. For people such as Sharon Whitlock, however, this week is a time to celebrate her heritage and to learn from her ancestors.

Kwanzaa has become a national celebration that commemorates African-American culture and reaffirms the principles that ancestors wanted future generations to live by.

In Bowling Green, Kwanzaa – which this year began Monday and continues through Sunday – is celebrated publicly and in homes. For the past eight years, Taylor Chapel Community Lay Organization has hosted a communitywide celebration, which has blossomed. The event moved Tuesday to First Christian Church because it needed a bigger venue, lay members said.

More than 100 people ventured to the church for Kwanzaa. They were clad in bright, traditional African robes, tunics, vests and headbands. A group of young people sang and danced, shaking maracas, rattling tambourines and banging drums.

Whitlock walked to the front of the church, balancing her granddaughter on her hip. The Alvaton woman, clad in a bright blue tunic and headband, lit one of seven candles – each of which represents one of the seven Kwanzaa principles – and began speaking about the second principle, self-determination.

She told the crowd not to let anyone name them or speak for them. Instead, people should define themselves and stand up for themselves, she said.

Whitlock returned to her seat and held her pigtailed granddaughter as they watched the rest of the ceremony. It’s important to teach younger generations about their ancestry, she said.

“This continues the heritage,” Whitlock said. “It helps us to understand the struggle, to understand the victories.”

Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966. It was created as a nonreligious festival, but has become associated with religion because many churches celebrate it. Also, one of the principles of Kwanzaa is faith.

“We don’t intend for it to be a religious event,” said John Hardin, a member of the lay organization. “But it has a spiritual component that’s meant to include everyone.”

A couple dozen children stood at the front of the church, swaying, clapping, playing instruments and belting “This Little Light of Mine.” Near the end of the ceremony, Cassandra Little asked audience members to speak the names of their heroes.

Little, in a black patterned tunic and matching cap, pointed upward and spoke the name of her mother, who died last year. Little’s Kwanzaa celebration didn’t end with Tuesday’s ceremony – in fact, it was just beginning.

Little is one of a handful of local residents who celebrate a traditional Kwanzaa at home. She visits friends’ homes over seven days, dedicating each day to learning about one of the seven principles.

Each day, they exchange gifts and fast from sunup to sundown. Their fast is broken with a feast each night, Little said.

“It’s my heritage. I think a lot of young people ought to know about it,” she said. “It means a lot.”

The Bowling Green woman says it’s important to pay tribute to her ancestors and to remember the obstacles they overcame. Kwanzaa helps the community keep those lessons in mind when people are faced with their own barriers, she said.

“Disaster doesn’t care what color your skin is or what religion you are,” she said. “Disaster hits, and it hurts.”