Iqaluit students decorate tree at legislative assembly, meet Santa
5 schools take part in Nunavut’s long-standing tradition
Justice Minister David Akeeagok picks up his daughter Hope Akeeagok, 8, so she can reach the top of the tree during the decorating ceremony Thursday at the legislative assembly. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
Iqaluit students took part in one of Nunavut’s longest-standing traditions – tree decorating, cookie eating and poem reciting at the legislative assembly.
From Dec. 3 to Dec. 5, students from five Iqaluit schools bused to the building to adorn one of the five trees with handmade ornaments.
On Thursday morning, around 30 elementary school students from Nanook School in Apex got their turn.
One by one, the students put up ornaments on one of the trees, with some stepping on a little stool to reach its higher parts.
Justice Minister David Akeeagok, who attended as father and grandfather, picked up his daughter and two granddaughters so that they could put their ornaments on the very top of the tree.
“It’s a really good tradition, coming here and seeing the kids putting up the decorations,” said Akeeagok, adding he has attended every tree decorating ceremony since the territory was formed in 1999.
After all the decorations were up, the students had some hot chocolate and cookies and got to meet the great man himself — Santa Claus.
The kids recited Christmas Eve in Apex and Santa, along with his elf helper, presented them some Nunavut anniversary toques with candy in them.
For Braelyn Lewis, 10, a tree decorating veteran who attended five of these events since kindergarten, meeting Santa was still the best part of it all.
She said the event felt as good as it did when she was younger, it’s just “more.” More Christmas decorations, that is. The older Lewis got, the more ornaments she made. This year it was six, she said.
For nine-year-old Elise Pedersen, the best part was the bus ride where the kids sang Christmas carols such as Jingle Bells and The Twelve Days of Christmas.
“This is one of the things that all the kids talked about — hot chocolate, decorating, seeing Santa and cookies,” said Samantha Dickieson, the students’ teacher. “This was their highlight and something they were really looking forward to.”
On Dec. 5, at 5:15 p.m., there will be a tree lighting ceremony in the legislative assembly’s parking lot, which the whole community is welcome to attend.
Did they have to go into the forest where my grandparents and I went and chopped down the perfect tree?
Perfect forest where trees are.
Brain wash education, still going strong. 🤣😝
Maybe they should teach them that Inuit life was all easy and happy-go-lucky pre-contact. Nobody struggled, nobody ever got hungry, and there was never any violence. Would that be brain-washing?
Next thing you know will be Christopher Columbus “discovered” North America, Christianity is never wrong, Santa actually exist.
Monkey see. Monkey do.🤣😭🤯
Aksu!
Hey LOL, if they went to the forest where your grandparents and you went to chop down the perfect tree, it’s a long long way from where the students who decorated a tree at Legislative Assemply
I guess we know whos getting coal in their stocking this year. (its LOL)
What magic do we as adults still have in our lives? Not much is there? Let children have the magic and joy while they still can before they turn into sad trolling adults like LOL.