DETROIT — The hustle and bustle of Christmas is over, but in the Wardford home one of their most treasured holidays — the seven days of Kwanzaa — begins Tuesday.

The Wardfords are among many families who celebrate the holiday that centers on principles dear to the heritage and hope of African-American people.

Historian and social activist Maulana Karenga started Kwanzaa 40 years ago in his home state of California. It rapidly spread from a little-known occurrence there to multifaceted festivities celebrated by millions of African-Americans and others throughout America and beyond.

This marks the 15th year the Wardfords have celebrated Kwanzaa with family and friends.

Like many families, Jeff and Jeanne Wardford and their children incorporate the cultural holiday's basic customs but add their own flavor.

A table in their spacious Detroit home displays the traditional Kwanzaa items, including a basket of fresh fruit, a Unity cup and ears of corn that represent the fruits of labor, the blessing of children, a bountiful crop and the growth and strength of a strong, united people. Most important, however, is a kinara, a set of seven candles, each one representing one of the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

The Wardfords also accent their table with art and artifacts to symbolize their connection to Africa, beautifully framed photographs in memory of deceased relatives, a block of cotton to honor the triumph over slavery and a photo of their family to represent the promise of the future.

"We celebrate Kwanzaa as a way of paying respect to our ancestors who we've been able to trace back as far as the 1600s," says Jeff Wardford, chief operating officer of his own corporate company, Taylarmade Consulting, which advises companies on restructuring.

"Although it's a seven-day celebration, we embrace the principles as principles to live by every day."

Jean Wardford says Kwanzaa became important to them as their children grew older. It provides a positive way for them to instill key values in their children and introduce them to relatives who've passed on. Not only do they display the photos of deceased relatives each year, they tell stories to make sure their children grow up knowing the ancestors they continue to represent.

"It's a way of keeping them alive," says Jean Wardford, who does real estate development and consulting work for nonprofit community groups. "When we invite others to our Kwanzaa celebration we encourage them to bring photos of relatives as well. Kwanzaa is a way of building stronger bonds within families as well as within the wider community."

Kwanzaa, a Swahili term meaning "first fruits," takes its name from African societies that hold large festivals to celebrate the harvesting of the year's first big crop.