Just before the holiday break we did something different that really touched our elders' hearts. Some of the student council representatives and the school principal went to each household to give out fruit and stockings to the elders. They were very happy and surprised because Max was dressed up as Santa Claus. This was new to all of us and we enjoyed it a lot.

Christmas day was very exciting because my sister Theresa had a baby girl. She named her baby Evangeline Tatiana Isaac. We were really happy because she'd been gone for a long time and we wanted her home for the holidays.

We also celebrated Russian Christmas which we call Slavic. It started on January 7 and ended on the 11th. This year it went by very fast. Everyone enjoyed it though. Every year they start off at the Russian Orthodox church. This year there weren't as many people as in other years. I think this is the reason why Slavic went by so fast. During this special holiday we think of Jesus Christ and the day he was born. We also listen to stories about the past, present and future. All these stories really get our attention. They make us understand how everything relates and contributes to everything else in life. Also during this holiday there are the Star, Bucket and Flag which stand for different things. The Star symbolizes when the wise men followed the star to find Christ. The Bucket stands for the Earth. And the Flag symbolizes the victory of Christ over death. Only boys hold these objects.

Starring during Slavic is done only in Alaska. Slavic started a long time ago, and was an outgrowth of the Russian Orthodox religion brought here by the Russians in the 1850's. People feast because they remember what Jesus said. When he was hungry he was fed. Also the old people believe that when you feast you feed the deceased because everyone has the "soul name" of some dead person.

Jackie Paul George