On Friday, December 9 the community had a Christmas Parade. It was quite different, but something Claire and I are thankful to experience and will never forget. There was no school that day for students. The teachers split into two teams, boys and girls, and dressed up two busses. The girls, being more astute planners, had several meetings weeks before to plan and prepare. On the other hand, the men, being more confident in their ability, decided to wait until the night before to get started. The girls, who ended up as the winners, disguised their bus as a gingerbread house. It was quite good and reflected their hardwork. We, the men, used the school's ATV and trailer to build a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Quite ingenius I know, but apparently the girls were quite upset with us bending the rules (we were ONLY supposed to use the bus).
After the busses were decorated the entire staff went to the Band Office and lined-up with the rest of the floats. In all there were 9 floats. The Band Office built one, health services and several other groups had others. The school had the advantage of having big busses, while the other 7 floats were trucks with Christmas lights or something like that. The parade was supposed to start at 2:00, but of course with this being Native Country it didn't actually start until 3:00. So we sat on the bus, in -30 weather waiting.
Next, the NAPS (local policeman) drove the truck and led us through the community. Everyone, and I mean everyone was lined up outside their houses with grocery bags waiting for us to throw out bags of candy. This event wasn't just for children, as adults, and even the elders were outside in wheelchairs watching and collecting the goodies. It was really something to see the entire community, both young and old, get into the festivities.
The winning girl's float. Now there was no actual prize, rather bragging rights, so the competiveness seemed out of place.
This is the girl's mascot, Crystal. She is the Grade 7 TA and one who we have really connected with.
The men's sleigh is made up of the bus and the ATV/trailer. The bus was the sleigh, with the ATV being th reindeer.
In discussions with students and staff we have learned of some neat Christmas traditions in Deer Lake. Some sound really neat and we are disappointed that we won't be here. The one everyone talks about involves Christmas Eve and is called Mukshey. On Christmas Eve, people go door to door to everyone's house and visit/eat food. It starts at dinner time and goes till the wee hours of the morning. No times or booking, simply walking door to door and spending five-10 minutes visiting with everyone. What makes this even better is the attitude and significance it has to the people.
When we ask the students what they are looking forward to most about Christmas, almost 100% of the time, their answers are the same, Mukshey of course. Their excitement does not lie under the tree but around eating and visiting with elders/cousins/family. Not quite the same attitude as the kids have down south.
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