bring a pumpkin to each of the classrooms.
I look at our big, orange guest. What kind of thing is a
pumpkin? What are we going to do with it?"
Halloween in a northern Inuit community brings some surprises for some of the children who live there. The large plane bringing cargo for the last time before winter holds many needed items, and a special load of never-before-seen pumpkins. Once they are delivered to the school, one is distributed to each classroom.
Once the pumpkins have been cleaned, seeds roasted and eaten, a face cut out and prepared for an evening's fun, it goes home with one student to be put on the porch as a Halloween decoration. Our narrator is the lucky one. With only time for tea and bannock before the excitement, darkness has engulfed their small community. Donning warm clothes, boots and costumes, they are off.
"There are kids, teens, Elders, parents with babies, and toddlers all out trick-or-treating. It's fun to go to every house. Our bags full of candy are heavy to carry when the wind is blowing hard."
After going home for a meal, community members gather at the hall for dancing, a parade, a costume contest and games. It is quite the celebration. Too soon, it's late and time for bed. Bed brings thoughts of the tunnaat, old and wise beings who visit the community under night's darkness. The pumpkin candles burn out and the pumpkin freezes.
Maybe they will be taken away by nighttime visitors?
This is an inviting look at cultural traditions in the North, where pumpkins are not grown, darkness comes early, and the entire community comes together to enjoy Halloween. Setting plays an essential role in the bright, snowy artwork.
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