The holiday season has finally arrived, and various campus groups are getting ready to do some celebrating.

Along with Christmas and Hanukkah, students are preparing to celebrate the upcoming Kwanzaa holiday.

According to the “Miscellaneous Kwanzaa Fun” Web site, the holiday is based on ancient African harvest festivals that emphasized teamwork and accomplishment.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, a professor at California State University.

The holiday, which begins on Dec. 26, lasts for seven days. It pays tribute to the cultural roots of Americans from African ancestry. It is a cultural, rather than religious, holiday.

Monic Muldrew, senior in management information systems and member of the Black Student Alliance, said BSA is planning a Kwanzaa celebration this Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Scheman Building.

Muldrew said the holiday is an important one for Iowa State’s African-American community.

“I think on this campus it’s becoming a more increasingly important holiday,” Muldrew said. “I think a lot of students didn’t celebrate it before coming to Iowa State, but through BSA, they are beginning to understand its symbolism and importance.”

Muldrew said although the Kwanzaa celebration is not a widely known holiday, that should change in the future.

“If BSA continues to have activities and publicize it, it will continue to become more important to students,” Muldrew said. “Most students have heard of Kwanzaa, but they don’t know what it is.”

Shantel Brown, senior in accounting and finance and treasurer of BSA, said BSA has been preparing for the celebration for more than a month.

Brown said BSA is aiming to emphasize the importance of the holiday to black students.

“For black students, it creates a wholeness or filling to make you feel complete,” Brown said. “For a lot of minorities, they may not have the resources here to rely on their heritage or culture, so this celebration Saturday will be a celebration in bonding for the African-American students.”

Brown said BSA also is expecting a decent turnout for the celebration.

“We should have a lot of people attending — they’ve been publicizing the event for maybe three weeks now,” Brown said. “We’ve been trying to also target the majority of students on campus so they can know more about it and brighten their horizons.”