While the observation obviously is intended for individuals of African-American heritage, their symbolic rededication is a tradition we should all learn more about and build into our own value system, no matter what part of the world your ancestors arrived from. (Those of you who have paid a visit to this year's "Light Up the Sites" winner and have already explored the Kwanzaa section of the list will recognize some of these addresses.)

•  www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org . I'm sure I mentioned this site in last year's Kwanzaa column, but the fact that it's the official home page from Dr. Karenga makes it easy to recommend. If you've never experienced the nightly rituals associated with the celebration, this is the place to learn about them.

•  www.tike.com . This site from TIKE -- The International Kwanzaa Exchange -- is dedicated to promoting the principles of Kwanzaa year-round. I really like this one. It's got great art and plenty of information of interest -- especially -- .

•  www.tike.com/celeb-kw.htm. This page goes into a little more detail, especially where the seven principles are discussed. Kwanzaa focuses on the individual, the family and the African-American community as a whole. Creativity and self-determination are just two of the seven guides included in the weeklong celebration.

•  www.umkc.edu/imc/kwanzaa.htm. In addition to general information about the Kwanzaa celebration, this site includes several songs, a recipe and my favorite, the official terms with pronunciation guides and translations for many of the ritual's symbols.

•  www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson039.shtml. By now you're probably acquainted with this outstanding educational site. If you aren't, and you teach or have children, please take a minute to explore it. There are several suggested projects included and, since creativity is an important part of the ritual, the idea of having youngsters weave their own mats or make their own cards is both clever and logical. There's even a link to a dictionary of "useful Swahili words."

•  www.melanet.com/kwanzaa. This is a fine place to start for individuals who are hosting a Kwanzaa celebration for the first time. The timeline is concise but helpful.

•  http://members.tripod.com/~Nancy_J/kwanzaa.htm. Kwanzaa or not, these recipes will have your mouth watering before you're halfway down the page.

•  www.holidays.net/kwanzaa. This section of the Holidays site is colorful, well-written and makes it fun to learn about the celebration, which for most of us is unfamiliar. You'll find recipes, craft projects and great e-mail cards to send to friends and family members.

•  www.globalindex.com/kwanzaa. This is an excellent site not only covering Kwanzaa, but also several other topics of interest to African-Americans. The site's been online since 1996 and, according to at least one section, is being upgraded, but I didn't have any trouble getting pages to come up.

•  www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/kwanzaa. Light on information but long on fun, these pages from Kids Domain include games to play, pages to color, e-cards to send, stories to read and crafts to make.

•  www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/kwanzaa. Trust CNN to give you the straight story about a holiday many people are confused about. The artwork is dull but the writing is excellent.

Jan Perry is a Kentucky-based freelance writer for The Post. She welcomes your questions and suggestions at SiteSeer2K@aol.com.