It is the warm community, the love and the happiness. It is the light from the small houses that warms your whole body in the winter darkness. It is the voices of children that practice Christmas carols. The laughter of the elderly who have already turned on the coffee machine, and the smell of grandma's soft cookies that have been baked, because of course that is part of Christmas.
It is these little moments, the warm glimmers amidst the cold, that make Christmas in the village of Qeqertarsuatsiaat special and enchanting. The community, the presence and a security that is so strong you can almost touch it.
- It's as if Christmas in the villages is more peaceful than in the bigger cities, says Unu Kirstine Berthelsen, who was born and raised in Qeqertarsuatsiaat, in Danish Fiskenæsset, which is located at the northern end of the island of Qeqertarsuatsiaq between Nuuk and Paamiut.
She is 37 years old and runs a shop in the village with her husband.
- Everyone is usually happy at Christmas, and everyone in the village is together, where everything is closed. The community creates so much love and happiness and it gives a lot of peace, she says.
Unu Kirstine Berthelsen starts practicing Christmas carols as early as October, as she has been a member of the choir in Qeqertarsuatsiaat since she was a teenager. For her, Christmas loses its meaning if carols are not sung.
As the first Sunday of Advent approaches, the family makes Christmas cookies and starts Christmas preparations in earnest.
- When I was a child, we used to be ‘kiffaq’ (housekeepers, ed.) for some of the families in the village. We helped with everything around the house, and as a thank you, we always got lots of Christmas presents from those we helped, says Unu Kirstine Berthelsen.
Christmas clips for adults and coffee at midnight
When the last Sarfaq Ittuk has docked, the village council, in collaboration with the associations, usually holds Christmas gatherings for the adults.
- We usually eat together, have Christmas carols and prepare different things for Christmas together. We also sing hymns, and there are also people who read aloud from some old Christmas stories that are in the church, says Unu Kirstine Berthelsen.
Three best Christmas haircuts will be chosen, and a special prize will also be awarded to the person who has made the most unusual haircut.
When the clock strikes midnight on December 23, the village celebrates the newborns with a coffee mik.
- When someone is born, the parents celebrate the child's first Christmas by having a coffee party at midnight. Nuan! Everyone is happy and together on Christmas Eve, she says.
Unu Kirstine Berthelsen's husband has a grandchild, and that means they will be the ones hosting the coffee party this year. After the coffee party, with a belly full of Greenlandic food and sweet pastries, and a little sleep, Christmas Eve creeps in before you even notice it.
- On Christmas Eve, children recite the Christmas Gospel during the children's service. It has always been that way since I was a child, says Unu Kirstine Berthelsen.
- I can also remember when I was a child, rushing to eat dinner just so I could run out and sing hymns outside the houses in Qeqertarsuatsiaat, she recalls.
Small moments, big traditions
According to Unu Kirstine Berthelsen, there are currently around 180 people living in Qeqertarsuatsiaat. And although community is not new to the settlement, it takes on a special meaning during the Christmas season. It's as if everyone is a little happier, a little more solemn and a little more peaceful.
Although it is the little moments that make Christmas extra special, traditions are always a permanent part of the holiday. They are what anchor the Christmas spirit and make it even more present.
- For example, the thing about being quiet on Christmas Eve, December 25th. We weren't allowed to play or talk loudly on Christmas Eve when I was a child. I also use that tradition a bit on my children today, she says.
Some of the traditions are – in addition to her father’s fried guillemots, which the family eats on Christmas Eve – that when the calendar hits midnight on December 26, hymns are sung in the newlyweds’ homes. The day is called aappariit ulluat, in Danish: couples’ day.
- We also sing hymns to some who have celebrated wedding anniversaries, including the catechist and the sales manager (niuertoq), says Unu Kirstine Berthelsen.
Creepy elves and Christmas garlands
This year will be no different. On the contrary - there will be plenty of Christmas cheer, and Unu will not skimp on either the crawling elves on the walls or the colorful Christmas garlands in the home.
- I'm just like my father. He also decorates his home, it just makes it much cozier, smiles Unu Kirstine Berthelsen.
Christmas is just around the corner. As usual, the children will wake up early on Christmas Eve, ready to run through the snow, smell the food, sing along to the hymns and gather around the little moments and old traditions - the ones that bind generations together and make Christmas in Qeqertarsuatsiaat something very special. Juullimi Pilluaritsi!
