Christmas is the major festival of the Alaskan people. Christmas in Alaska sees a lot of native rituals and customs in full flow during the Christmas season. The Alaskan people have some distinctness in their Christmas feast and decorations.
Christmas in Alaska is celebrated on 25th December just like in other American states. Santa Claus in his sleigh pulled by Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer, arrives for a pre Christmas visit. His visit is of great delight to the children as he has a book full of goodies.
The Christmas carols and hymns are sung by the people and the family homes reverberate with Christmas music. The songs sung at each home include Aleut words Gristuusaaq suu'uq or Christ is born. The whole family ends the song with the closing words Mnogaya leta, or God grant you many years. When the singing of carols end, the master of the house or the mistress of the house invites the carolers to a feast of maple frosted doughnuts, cookies, candy, piruk or fish pie and sometimes smoked salmon.
Christmas in Alaska is invariably white. The snow covered ground and the sparkling blue sky have its own charm that is hard to resist. The snowmen are sometimes lighted up and make a pretty sight. The traditional baked Christmas dinner is another well loved family affair, though Alaskans have seafood too. The Christmas pudding and the Christmas cakes are distributed amongst the family members. All the houses are decorated with lights and the Christmas tree is a delight. It is bedecked with dazzling lights, ornaments which are sometimes family treasures, and the gaily wrapped gift packages are an attraction to all. Connect to
Christmas Carnivals.
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