It is that time of year again, when the ground gets cold, leaves get crunchy, and the aroma of sweet potato pie wafts throughout every room in Grandma’s house.
Despite often experiencing significant inequality in everyday life (Bonilla-Silva, 2021), for many Black families, the holidays are frequently characterized by a number of celebratory practices. Gathering to have dinner, play music, tell stories, and laugh, these activities express joy and foster togetherness.
Rituals like gathering as a family and cultural celebrations like Kwanzaa create space for Black families to connect, share humor, and affirm their cultural identities. This is especially important in the U.S., where the holidays are rooted in white, Christian, and middle-class norms.
For some individuals, Black holiday traditions might seem insignificant or like diversions or distractions from systemic injustice. However, instead of ignoring systemic racism, Black holiday practices often function as sites of joy, whether individuals consciously attempt to create nurturing spaces or not. Additionally, and most importantly, this essay suggests they serve as sites of resistance and resilience.
The Significance of Black Traditions
Research suggests that practices that promote joy, laughter, affirmation, and respect can foster empowering experiences and help mitigate discrimination (Hanley & Hogue, 2024). Additionally, family togetherness and environments that create a sense of safety can build resilience and aid individuals in coping with difficult life experiences (Mims et al., 2025).
Consequently, Black holiday practices can help mitigate the effects of oppression and offer resources for navigating a society marked by social, economic, and relational inequality.
In addition to bringing people together, Black holiday traditions help us hold onto Black culture and enable connection, unity, and wellness. Passing down recipes preserves culinary traditions tied to Black heritage. Additionally, sharing life updates, rehashing old stories, and cracking jokes over shared meals promote mental wellness, a sense of belonging, and intergenerational bonding.
In doing so, these practices unconsciously act as social support structures. Research suggests that this is valuable for helping individuals manage and thrive (Lakey & Cohen, 2000), especially in racially discriminatory environments (Steers et al., 2019).
Black celebrations serve as survival mechanisms and recognition of our humanity. Thus, they are both political and revolutionary, highlighting practices (e.g., singing, dancing, storytelling) that have sustained us since slavery.
By celebrating Black life, culture, and identity amid institutional racism, Black holiday traditions resist harmful narratives that portray Black individuals as suffering, angry, or damaged. In fact, they reinforce racial identity and pride, acknowledging the richness and beauty of Black culture, traditions, and experience.
These practices do not erase inequality or ignore the systemic injustices Black individuals face. However, they do provide an opportunity for joy and cultural pride to exist alongside and in spite of them. The significance of these practices becomes more obvious when we consider holidays in America, as they often overlook Black culture.
American Holidays
Despite being depicted as universal experiences, American holidays largely reflect white, Christian, and middle-class cultural values. Whiteness influences expectations for participation and celebration, defining what behaviors, customs, and expressions are deemed traditional. Additionally, they set the standard for how holidays should be celebrated.
Decorations often feature white-dominant symbols like Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, and menorahs, which serve as the default holiday imagery. Cultural norms often emphasize gift-giving and consumerism as essential for “celebrating,” presuming that individuals have disposable income and access to monetary resources. Similarly, social expectations regarding free and vacation time often assume flexibility and financial security.
To fit in and signal that they belong, individuals are expected to engage in extensive gift-giving and consumption. Additionally, they are also expected to display visible joy, appreciation, and emotional availability, regardless of personal, financial, or structural stressors. This is because these actions are perceived as standard for participation and celebration.
Black Holiday Practices
However, within these prevailing structures, Black holiday traditions are also influenced by African-centered customs, which prioritize community, culture, and collective well-being.
Black holiday rituals include gathering, cooking family recipes, sharing memories, eating traditional dishes like soul food, playing games like Uno and Spades, attending church, and celebrating Kwanzaa’s Kinara and seven principles.
In bringing people together, these moments deepen social ties and uplift the Black cultural identity. They also provide opportunities for introspection, connection, and intergenerational knowledge sharing, serving as a healing balm in a society marked by oppression.
Apart from cultivating happy moments, these rituals provide social and emotional healing that follows individuals long after the holidays are over. They support community cohesion and foster a shared sense of identity in a society where Black values and traditions are often marginalized.
Therefore, for many Black people, December is more than just a month. Throughout the African diaspora, it is a time of great celebration, where holiday rituals encourage us to nurture family bonds and build cultural connections. This time often guides us to honor our heritage, foster resilience, and strengthen the bonds that restore us.
Therefore, ultimately, Black holiday practices are not only important, but they are also essential. They act as displays of joyful expressions and serve as forms of subtle resistance. Additionally, they protect, liberate, and revitalize, sustaining Black individuals and communities through systemic challenges. Finally, they remind us that joy, love, and celebration are not luxuries; they are life-sustaining needs.
Kiana Foxx, Ph.D.
Dr. Kiana Foxx, Ph.D., holds a doctorate in higher education and organizational change and serves as a Regional Coordinator with the Umoja Community Education Foundation. Her work centers on supporting Black community college students across California and advancing equity-focused practices that promote access, inclusion, and student success in postsecondary education institutions.
References
Bonilla-Silva, E. (2021). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America. Rowman & Littlefield.
Hanley, W., & Hogue, B. (2024). Insisting on Success as Resistance: Building an Ecosystem of Black Joy, Laughter, and Affirmation. Black Educology Mixtape “Journal”, 2(1). Retrieved from https://repository.usfca.edu/be/vol2/iss1/2
Image by Gamma AI
Lakey, B., & Cohen, S. (2000). Social support and theory. Social support measurement and intervention: A guide for health and social scientists, 29, 29-49.
Photo by Marnie Rochester on Unsplash
Mims, L. C., Anekwe, A. P., Duane, A., Leath, S., Stephens, J. R. B., Burnett, M., … & Bui, T. T. (2025). “I choose joy”: Exploring Black familial joy as a strengths-based coping asset in the United States. Journal of Family Psychology.
Steers, M. L. N., Chen, T. A., Neisler, J., Obasi, E. M., McNeill, L. H., & Reitzel, L. R. (2019). The buffering effect of social support on the relationship between discrimination and psychological distress among church-going African-American adults. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 115, 121-128. 10.1016/j.brat.2018.10.008
