Authors hope to teach Kwanzaa lessons by Jeff Piorkowski "The McMillian Family Kwanzaa Celebration Guide, " featuring recipes for Kwanzaa foods, proper invitations to Kwanzaa programs, and tips to celebrate Kwanzaa utilizing traditional symbolism, is available at www.klmcreations.com. The McMillian "family" believes more people should celebrate Kwanzaa, but knows that most people don't quite know how to do so. So Keesha McMillian, of Quilliams Road in South Euclid, her mother Patricia Nelson-McMillian, and their extended Kwanzaa family wrote a book to make sure anyone looking to celebrate Kwanzaa can do so properly and get the most out of their celebration. That extended family consists not of relatives by blood, but of relatives in spirit — friends who jom the McMillians in celebrating Kwanzaa. It is a family that grows as new friends are met during the year. The McMillian family is in its 13th year of celebrating Kwanzaa and will this year hold a gathering for 350 people Dec. 30 at an undisclosed party cen:er. "We've already done three pre-Kwanzaa celebrations," said Keesha McMillian, who holds a naster's degree in education. 'We did one at Mt. Olive Mislonary Baptist Church and taped two for Channel 5 and 8." One aired Dec. 18 on Chanel 5, and the other will air Monday on Channel 8. The McMillians also held an ducational gathering Tuesday at the RapArt Center in Cleveland Heights. What is Kwanzaa? It was developed in 1966 by Dr. Maulanan Karenga as a way to celebrate African-American heritage and i ancestry, and to give thanks for blessings received throughout the year. It runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. "Celebrating Kwanzaa really took hold in the early 1970s because a lot of people were becoming more aware then of our African-American  heritage" said Sandra Dixon, a Cleveland Heights resident and principal of St. Joseph's grade school in Cleveland. Dixon was one of more than a dozen people who met Dec. 10 at Keesha McMillian's home to discuss their roles in the Kwanzaa celebration. Kwanzaa consists of several traditions, such as the seven Nguzo Saba principles. Celebrants focus on a different principle each day of the week while a symbolic candle is lit in a seven-candle holder similar to a Jewish menorah. Those principles are unity; self-determination;  collective work and responsibility; cooperative economics, which entails the support of minority-owned businesses; purpose; creativity; and faith. Denise Sumey of Wairensville Heights was at McMillian's house for her first Kwanzaa celebration. My daughter (Dana) has been bugging me since she was in the second grade to do this,"Sumey said. "I never ventured out and found (a family). Now, I'm doing the newsletter for this family. Keesha McMillian said Kwanzaa was not a religious holiday. "It doesn't take the place of Christmas," she said. "It is the first non-heroic African-American holiday, meaning it doesn't celebrate Martin Luther King or anyone. It is to give thanks for the blessings we receive throughout the year and to remember our heritage." Much as a Christmas tree is displayed, so is the Kwanzaa supply kit. It is made up of seven basic items used symbolically during the celebration of Kwanzaa. The symbols are all placed on a table or mantle and include a Unity Cup filled with a libation. Guests sip from the cup to honor their ancestors. The candle holder, or Kinara, is joined by the seven candles themselves; the Crops, or fruit symbolizing labor; the Mat, representing the  foundation on which all Kwanzaa symbols rest; the Corn, representing children; and the Gifts, representing shared labor and love. Rhonda Allen-Scott of Eastway Road in South Euclid has two daughters, Taylor, 9, and Taryn, 5. "It's a lot of fan," Allen-Scott said. "We all pitch in and make the gifts. Last year, our family made a banner, which we presented during the program, called the Scott Family Banner.'' Patricia McMillian said Kwanzaa was not limited to African Americans. "All people can join together and celebrate and give thanks," she said. All one needs is to be part of the family of man.