HOLIDAYS AND THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLKS: WHY DO WE CELEBRATE THEM?
The Truth Is Ugly, But It Must Be Told
This discussion is not meant to spread hate. It’s not against white people, or their culture. But it is a message to Black people in America who continue to blindly celebrate European holidays—holidays that were never meant for us, that never included us, and that were created during times when we were slaves, subhuman in their eyes, and property under their laws.
For hundreds of years, we were stripped of everything—our names, our languages, our traditions, our gods, and our pride. Now, after all that, we decorate our homes with the colors of countries that enslaved us. We cook food, shoot off fireworks, and gather around trees, never asking: What does this have to do with us?
This presentation is a hard truth, written for the love of our people. If you can’t take the heat, go back to the kitchen where you learned how to celebrate your slave master’s freedom. But if you’re ready to peel back the lies, read on.
1. New Year’s Day (January 1st)
What You Think It Is: A fresh start.
What It Really Is: A Roman holiday based on the god Janus—nothing to do with Black history, Black struggle, or Black culture. And let’s not forget that January 1, 1863, was when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued only for slaves in rebellious states—meaning even then, many Black people stayed in chains.
Why It’s Hypocritical: We pop bottles and shout "Happy New Year!" when our ancestors were still being whipped, raped, and sold on that same day. Celebrating this is like clapping for your kidnapper’s birthday.
2. Valentine’s Day (February 14th)
What You Think It Is: A day of love and romance.
What It Really Is: A European Catholic holiday based on Saint Valentine, mixed with Roman pagan fertility festivals. Love? Where was the love for us?
Why It’s Hypocritical: We spend millions on gifts while ignoring the fact that Black love was destroyed during slavery—our families broken, our people bred like animals. We need to rebuild Black love, not follow theirs.
3. St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th)
What You Think It Is: Green beer, parades, and fun.
What It Really Is: An Irish Catholic celebration. We were never Irish. In fact, many Irish Americans supported slavery when they came to the U.S.
Why It’s Hypocritical: We wear green for a people who never wore black for us. Enough said.
4. Easter (March/April)
What You Think It Is: The resurrection of Jesus.
What It Really Is: A European Christian holiday mixed with pagan spring festivals. The bunny and the eggs? Total pagan nonsense.
Why It’s Hypocritical: Christianity was forced on us during slavery. Our original African spiritual systems were destroyed. We go to church every Easter dressed in our Sunday best, but still can’t answer who we were before we were slaves.
5. Mother’s Day & Father’s Day (May & June)
What You Think It Is: Honoring parents.
What It Really Is: Commercial holidays created to sell cards, flowers, and guilt.
Why It’s Hypocritical: It’s not wrong to honor our parents—but do it every day, not just when America says you should. These holidays have no African root. Create your own family days, ones that connect to your own legacy.
6. Memorial Day (May)
What You Think It Is: Honoring fallen soldiers.
What It Really Is: A U.S. military holiday.
Why It’s Hypocritical: Black soldiers died for a country that never fought for them. We fought in every war—from the Revolution to Iraq—yet still get treated like enemies at home. Why are we waving their flag when they never waved ours?
7. Independence Day (July 4th)
What You Think It Is: Freedom, fireworks, and food.
What It Really Is: The day white colonists declared independence from Britain in 1776—while still owning Black people.
Why It’s Hypocritical: Our ancestors were not free on July 4th. They were being bought and sold like cattle. Frederick Douglass asked in 1852: “What, to the slave, is the Fourth of July?” The answer? Nothing.
8. Labor Day (September)
What You Think It Is: A day off work.
What It Really Is: A celebration of the labor movement that excluded Black workers for decades.
Why It’s Hypocritical: Unions and jobs we celebrate were built on Black backs but kept us out. A day for labor? We were the labor. Honor that every day, not once a year through their lens.
9. Halloween (October 31st)
What You Think It Is: Costumes, candy, and fun.
What It Really Is: A European pagan holiday about the dead, later turned into a commercial festival.
Why It’s Hypocritical: We dress up as monsters, yet we’re treated like monsters by the system year-round. Our kids are taught to fear ghosts while the real terror walks in blue uniforms.
10. Thanksgiving (November)
What You Think It Is: Family, food, and giving thanks.
What It Really Is: A celebration of colonial settlers surviving—right before they began killing Native people and taking their land.
Why It’s Hypocritical: We sit at the table and pray to the same God used to enslave us. We eat turkey while ignoring the genocide. And we still got no land.
11. Christmas (December 25th)
What You Think It Is: Jesus’ birthday, family, gifts.
What It Really Is: A European holiday wrapped in capitalism and lies. Jesus wasn’t born in December, and he wasn’t white.
Why It’s Hypocritical: We spend money we don’t have on gifts we don’t need to celebrate a version of Jesus that don’t look like us and never will. We worship the white Santa while our children grow up thinking “good” means “white.”
Let’s Be Real—We Don’t Have Our Own
We lost our culture. We lost our names. We lost our gods. Now we live by their calendar, their holidays, their rules, and their beliefs.
How can a people rise if they are celebrating the chains that keep them down?
Some of us came from Africa. Others came from South America, the Caribbean, or were native to this land. But wherever we came from, one thing is true—we are not them. We should not live like them. We should not celebrate like them.
So What Do We Do Now?
Let’s start by building:
Our own holy days based on Black excellence, Black history, and Black triumph.
Our own traditions tied to the land, the ancestors, and the fight we’ve survived.
Our own schools of thought that teach our children truth, not lies.
Create “Family Legacy Day.” Celebrate “Ancestors Week.” Honor your truth.
Final Word: Stop Asking for a Seat at the Table. Build Your Own Damn Table.
They will never give us full freedom at their table. They will feed us scraps and call it a meal. We’ve been eating from their plate for too long.
It’s time to stop.
It’s time to remember.
It’s time to build.
This article isn’t about guilt. It’s about awareness. The more you know, the better you grow.
Don’t let another year go by celebrating your oppressor’s joy while your own story remains untold.
We’ve been through too much to keep pretending.
Wake up, family. Let’s reclaim what’s ours.
I stopped a long time ago. Even celebrating birthdays which actually make you age.