Benjamin Akol won’t be celebrating Christmas this holiday season. At least in the conventional sense.

Born in Sudan, the senior journalism major was raised in a culture where evergreen trees don’t exist and only the true, religious meaning of Christmas was celebrated.

“Christianity confused me in America. Santa Claus, to me, was a sign of Satan,” he said. “That’s the way I took it. I don’t see the role it plays with Christianity.”

Instead of rewarding his family and friends with gifts, Akol donates his time and money to more charitable causes, such as homelessness.

Derrick Smith, academic counselor of the Center for Black Studies, has become similarly disenfranchised to the fact that holiday has morphed into people spending money instead of time with their families.

He said he sees Christmas as more of a complement to Kwanzaa, which he has celebrated since 1993. He added that the role commercialism plays has made people forget the holiday’s origins.

“For me, the main purpose of celebrating Christmas is gone,” Smith said. “Now it’s more into the gifts and all that, and we forgot why we’re celebrating.”

Every year, the Center offers students a refresher course on the “Seven Principles of Blackness” and the celebration itself, which runs from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.

Although this year’s festivities were scrapped due to economic concerns, the individuals at the Center still plan on celebrating their heritage on a personal level.

Van Amos, program director for the Center, has taken part in Kwanzaa with his family for close to 35 years. He said common misconceptions surrounding the weeklong celebration often deter those interested in observing.

“A lot of the time, people misrepresent Kwanzaa,” Amos said. “They think it’s a religious holiday or a replacement for Christmas, but it’s not. It represents a harvest celebration indigenous of Africa, but not to one specific African culture.”

Over his 20 years on the continent, Akol was involved with a number of African cultures, but the way those cultures observed North American customs and traditions never wavered.

“American culture was really strange for me, and I tried to learn,” Akol said. “I knew the way people celebrated Christmas here, but I see that as not a big thing for me.”