Countdown to Christmas

KIRSTEN MURPHY

It’s a chilly day in Iqaluit, but the sun is shining and it’s a great day for a parade.

Three children wearing fuzzy reindeer antlers watch decorated floats gather in the parking lot of Joamie School. Stationed above the crowd on a festive float, the costumed kids have a great spot to watch Christmas come to the capital city.

Christmas in Iqaluit — and hamlets throughout Nunavut — is a six-week celebration of silly games and community feasts.

And it usually all starts with a parade.

Crystal Jones, Iqaluit’s recreation program coordinator, said 10 floats made up this year’s event on Nov. 29. Jones estimates the crowd-pleasing procession is nearing its 16th year. More than decorated vehicles and hats, the parade welcomes in the holiday season.

“Everyone seems to get out and involved. It’s awesome. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she says.

Indeed, the holiday season is steeped in tradition throughout Nunavut, but not all traditions are alike. In Grise Fiord there are no parades.

“It’s too dark to have parades here,” said Martin Kuluguqtuk, the community’s acting senior administrative officer. “On New Year’s Day everyone with a snowmobile — about 100 people — ride through town and out to the sea ice.”

The highlight of the season in Grise Fiord, he said, are two weeks of games, feasts and dances at the community hall.

“We stay up late, sleep lots and then start all over again the next day,” Kuluguqtuk said with a chuckle.

Over in the Kivalliq region, Arviat celebrates the season with not one but two snowmobile parades: one on Christmas Eve and one on New Year’s Eve.

“Everyone dresses up in caribou parkas and clothing and rides on snowmobiles and trucks. It’s so cold and so late, people will stand in their windows and watch,” said Paul Anowtalik, Arviat’s recreation coordinator.

After the parades, Arviammiut gather at the community hall to dance and play games. During the day, outdoor competitions are held on Hudson Bay.

“There is a 100 per cent turn out,” Anowtalik said.

In Iqaluit, the days and weeks following the Christmas parade are filled with the lighting of the legislature, the Rotary Club’s Christmas hamper drive, school concerts, an outdoor Christmas light competition and games, games, games in Iqaluit and Apex.

“We have so much community spirit,” said Gideonie Joamie, games co-organizer at Abe Okpik Hall in Apex. “Everyone is laughing and it’s high-energy, especially with the younger crowd.”

What’s so funny? Imagine a blindfolded woman trying to apply lipstick to her husband. Or a man trying to pick up a pop can with a nail suspended by a string from his belt loop. Or picture someone trying to open a thickly wrapped present using cutlery and wearing oven mitts.

The laughs are followed by marathon square dancing sessions, an extended, high-impact work out that borders on cardiovascular torture for the uninitiated.

“Every night there is a good turnout. I think it’s just pure enjoyment. It’s an environment where the entire family can come and take part,” Joamie said.

Do they come for the camaraderie or the prizes? Winning competitors have taken home Coleman stoves, sleeping bags, lanterns, gasoline cans, stereos and televisions. Raffle winners have pocketed airline tickets.

Whatever the draw, community spirit keeps the party going until the wee hours. Games start in the early evening and run past midnight — sometimes until 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Joamie said.

New games are often added and everyone is welcome, he added.

“The more the merrier.”