Quviasukvik (; "Christmas"), is the first day of the year according to
Inuit
Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
. The festival of the
New Year is celebrated by Inuit,
Yupik,
Aleuts
Aleuts ( ; (west) or (east) ) are the Indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands, which are located between the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Both the Aleuts and the islands are politically divided between the US state of Alaska ...
,
Chukchi,
NunatuKavummiut and the
Iñupiat
The Inupiat (singular: Iñupiaq), also known as Alaskan Inuit, are a group of Alaska Natives whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States borde ...
. The feast originally derives from traditional
Inuit religion but in modern times, it has Christian influences.
Timing
The Quviasukvik festival starts on
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...
and ends on January 7. This festival celebrates the coming of the new year and the sea goddess,
Sedna and the transferring of spirits for good luck in the new year. During these days, many traditional customs are displayed. Due to Christian influences,
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
was considered a new year to the Inuit which gave the festival its name.
See also
*
Angakkuq
*
First sunrise
Notes
*This would only apply in those areas where the sun rose on December 24. Many
circumpolar peoples
Circumpolar peoples and Arctic peoples are umbrella terms for the various indigenous peoples of the Arctic region.
Approximately four million people are resident in the Arctic, among which 10 percent are indigenous peoples belonging to a vast nu ...
live above the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circl ...
, experience
polar night
Polar night is a phenomenon that occurs in the polar regions of Earth, northernmost and southernmost regions of Earth when the Sun remains below the horizon for more than 24 hours. This only occurs inside the polar circles. The opposite phen ...
, and thus have no sunrise on December 24. For example the
Copper Inuit who lived in the
Umingmaktok area () did not see the sunrise between (approximately) December 12 and 29
References
{{Christmas
Festivals in Alaska
Festivals in Nunavut
Festivals in Greenland
Festivals in Russia
New Year in Canada
New Year in Russia
New Year in the United States
Shamanistic festivals
Cultural festivals in Canada
Cultural festivals in Greenland
Cultural festivals in Russia
Cultural festivals in the United States
Winter traditions
Inuit mythology
December observances
Observances on non-Gregorian calendars
Inuit culture
Winter in Canada
Winter events in Greenland
Winter in Russia
Winter in the United States
Shamanistic holidays
Indigenous festivals in Canada
Christmas in Canada
Christmas in Denmark
Christmas in the United States
Indigenous peoples days