Happy Solstice!

Yesterday was the Solstice. We'll be gaining daylight now! I'm always a bit astonished that the Solstices are regarded as "the first day of Winter" and "the first day of Summer". They always come when it feels like winter and summer have long begun.

My friends in the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers have an annual tradition where every Solstice, they do some drumming and dancing on top of Troth Yeddha' ridge to welcome back the sun. In Dec of 2020, we still did not have a good understanding of how COVID spreads, so they streamed the event online. However, in Dec of 2021, we know that the virus does not spread outdoors if you stand far apart, so we went to go watch.

Three generations here! Grandpa, son, and grandson, singing together.

Here are some words from my friend.

"Tatqiġġuuq suli nuiḷġaaqami auraġnaġiaylaitchuġġuuq. Siqiñiġmiñ iŋaiġuti’ami, ukiuq takiraqtuq. Aasriiñ siqiñiq nuiḷġaaqami auraġnaġiaġaqtuġġuuq. Iñuich niqaiqsuat auraġnaġiaqman quyaraqtuq. Aasriiñ auraġnaġianġitman, taragguuq nagliksaaġaqtut, iḷaŋich kakkaaqhutiŋ. Taimani taatnaqhutiŋ ittuatlaiññiqsuat. Taatna niqi katinniuraqługu ataramik piraqniqsut.”

"There are four days in December when the sun will be completely gone from the sky in our area [Northwest Alaska]. After these four days, our people watch the night sky to see if the moon comes up first, our people know that the winter will be long. Summer will be late if the moon comes up first. If the sun comes up first, the people will be happy. They know that there will be an early spring. Winter will be short and summer will soon be there. Food supplies are usually short by the beginning of spring so an early spring is an event to be happy about. It will mean that the birds and the fish will soon be in our area for us to hunt and catch. In the event that winter will be prolonged, we take extra caution to ration our winter supply of food during the second half of the winter season. We make sure that we do not starve before summer comes.”

--Minnie Gray and Ruthie Sampson

Atautchikun Gazhee (We are celebrating Gazhee together)! Pavvamiut naniurapiaqtuqtugut (Pavva is using an oil lamp [hundreds of years old passed through the generations]). Our ceremonies and celebrations are sacred. My great-uncle shared about Gazhee which was a seven-day event around this time of year. Ceremonies evolve over time, and we do not want to forget our connections to our ancestors. Today we remember Gazhee by singing to the Winter Solstice Siqiñiq (Sun). Though the ceremony has changed, it is not forgotten. Today, we feel our ancestors present, and we look forward to a new year with family and friends.

I had never thought about a place where the sun disappears for four days. I mean, I knew that in Utqiagvik there are 65 days without sun, but four days seems tolerable and countable, and yet also very mysterious. Four days of darkness, and then the sun comes back. How fascinating!

Well, the drumming and the singing must be working, because the sun is rising. Some Chinese tourists on their way to the museum stopped to watch, too.

A poem for you, from Hafiz of Shiraz, as relevant today as it was in the 14th century:

My first covid-era haircut. It was only a bit of a stretch, as I generally only get a haircut every 3 or so years anyway so I can donate it. My friend M found a hairdresser who is vaxed and boosted, insists on masking, and will give you upon request an early-bird appointment when the shop is otherwise empty. So I took this opportunity while my booster is fresh and omicron has not taken off here yet. I feel light as a feather! Wheeeeeeeee!

I ran the girls on the road by headlamp this morning before my early appointment, so when I got home, it was still midday. We had had a rather big storm! Last Sun through Mon, a foot of snow came down! After breaking my ankle last spring and having a snowstorm threaten my ability to get to my surgery, DL bought a snowblower, so he tested it out after this storm. Not bad! We were able to clear out in about half a day, which also includes hand shoveling the tight areas that the snow blower wouldn't work.

Anyway, today, I decided to go snowshoe to break our spur to the trail system, so maybe we could go skijoring! Alas, the main trail was still not broken. Hmmmm... Would the girls like to break this? I think they would! But I was already feeling lazy just looking at it!

However, I did successfully break our own spur!

On the way back, I widened the trail further by stepping outside of my own steps out.

\

Nice work, huh? The girls will be so proud when they see it!

OK time to go back inside and ask the girls, would they like to go skijoring and break trail the whole way, or just call it a low-activity day?

Hmmmm... LOL. We stayed home after that.

Here is a selfie from skjoring the other day. Another skijorer has been spotted on our neighborhood trail system wearing a helmet! I'm so pleased to be part of Promoting a Culture of Safety!