"My Christmas vacation was challenging for me because of the harsh weather conditions, but it was wonderful too. I feel lucky I made it to almost all the houses during Slavic, even I was very tired, because I stayed up most of the night. Nowadays Slavic is different because a long time ago when I was young and the star went into the houses we never let people go in and out the door like they do know. We also would not allow the younger kids too look around when they sang or even after they sang when an elder was talking. The elders used to talk about what their parents told them about themselves and the Yupik way of life and about their religion. It is very different for all the elders now because in the past they gave more discipline and talked to the younger people a lot more. The weather now is stormier and not as good as it used to be. My wish is that most of what used to be done a long time ago would come back and that it could be taught to the younger generation."

Theresa Boots