Far North Friday: Celebrate

I never had the opportunity to celebrate Christmas in a remote, far north community, but over the years, we had many visits to different remote communities during the month of December and enjoyed the festivities leading up to Christmas.

In the communities, December was a time for celebration. Christmas was just around the corner. School had ended for the session. The band administration and services were shutting down for the holidays. Everyone was ready for a break. Celebrations varied from community-to-community, but generally, they involved dances, feasts, school pageant, and perhaps a comedy show.

School Christmas pageants (Photo 1) were like the ones you may have attended with your children, grandchildren, or friends. Each class sang, acted, or danced. Sometimes a theme weaved the classes together. Some youth loved the opportunity to “act up” during a sanctioned show, while the few shy ones would rather have sat in the audience.

Community dances were energized. The school gym or community hall was packed. Recorded music motivated dancing. Occasionally, a live band filled the hall with 100db of music. Sometimes fiddles and guitars appeared. Disco and stage lights added drama to the environment. Dance shoes ranged from socks, a favourite for the kids who slid across the floor like a bowling ball hitting pins, to ski-doo boots, which added a distinctive beat with a squeak from the floor. Expert square dancers performed generational reels. Youth expended 3 months of pent up energy by running, sliding, and jumping. Teen youth grooved to a motionless rhythm shroud beneath their blanket of cool. Bystanders sat against the walls watching and enjoying. The hall was a lesson in Brownian motion as people came and went all evening. The strategic place to sit, or stand, was close to, but not too close, the exit door, where a flush of -30C air refreshed the packed hall each time someone entered or left.

And there were the feasts. For the elders’ feast (Photo 2), community members cooked food and served the elders at tables. I recall once being scolded for composing photos during the elders dinner. I completely understand. No one likes to have their photo “taken” while their spoon is half-way into an open mouth. In addition, there were some cultural reasons why some elders did not want their photos taken. But most tolerated my presence behind the camera - I think.

The school staff had their feast (Photo 3), supported by hilarious and embarrassing gift exchanges and contests. The band administration, including those who worked for the band social, technical, and lands departments, had their feast.

The feasts culminated with a community feast, where all were invited to gather and eat together. There was a speech or two from the elected leadership, a prayer, and the eating began. I was always amazed that the community cooks were able to supply enough soup, shepherds pie, bannock, wild fish and game, vegetables, juice, tea and coffee. When we attended, we contributed fresh fruit. It was a time to reconnect with community members.

I was always left with a deep sense of “community” during these festive visits. For a few hours, there was a sense of community comradery, joy, and peace. Differences were put aside. Empty stomachs were filled. Worries about where the money would come from to pay the electricity bill, to buy the “granny” wood needed to heat their homes during the cold winter, or to buy the groceries for an extended family of 10 were temporarily forgotten. What about the boil water advisory? It was a time to momentarily suppress the health concerns about the elder flown out that week to a southern hospital.

I often heard “it is not like it used to be”. “Things have changed”. Phrases that each generation owns. It is indeed a more complex world today, but that feeling of community and resilience was always there. It was a time to celebrate, if only for a couple of hours or a week.

Mino makozhegiizhigan / Merry Christmas

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Jan. 1, 2021 (Facebook Dec. 25, 2020).