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Napaskiak Celebrates Slaviq

While many Alaskans have returned to work after the holidays, the state's Orthodox villages have just concluded their celebration of Slaviq, the Russian Orthodox celebration of Christmas. We went to Napaskiak, a few miles downriver from Bethel, for the last ceremony.

Credit Katie Basile / KYUK
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KYUK
The Napaskiak Russian Orthodox Choir sings from the loft inside the St. Jacob Church in Napaskiak on January 9, 2017. From left: Olga Mesak, Elisa Steven, Alice Maxie, Stephen Maxie III, John Sipary and Krissy Samuelson.

The air in the church is warm and thick with frankincense, despite near negative temperatures outside. A small choir is hidden in a loft above those coming in from the cold, creating the impression that the soft reverberant sounds are not coming from anywhere specific, or rather originate from heaven itself.

The smoke, the songs, and the droning hum of priests combine with first rays of the Monday morning sun shining in from the east; it’s a little surreal. It seems unusual in a culture typically so unconcerned with appearances and ceremony. Some onlookers, like Christine Samuelson, are transported back in time.

“I grew up with it. My father was a leader for the young kids who used to Slaviq back then. They used to start practicing in the month of November, and they always used to practice at our house almost every night for the whole month of November," Samuelson said. 

Samuelson now leads the choir in the church. Her right hand floats gently back and forth, directing the others and keeping time. Her voice is perched at the top of a tight musical chord as other voices move under hers. The song is like a ship, and she is its captain. She says that being here today makes her feel like a kid.

"It brings me back to those days," Samuelsson said. 

Slaviq means "glory" in Slavonic, a liturgical language that is being sung here today. Samuelson says that the last few years haven’t felt much like Slaviq for her, though. She misses the snow and the deep cold. The village has also grown a lot since she was young, and the community is not as close as they were when she was small.

The service ends with the sound of bells, and church-goers gather into groups to visit homes in the community and continue the singing.

A crowd gathers inside a home just a short walk away. One young man carries an ornate star, about two feet in diameter, which he begins to spin as the people re-form into a new choir and begin to sing again in the living room. This tradition is called "starring".

Father Vasily, who has been a priest for ten years, leads fathers, mothers, and children through hymns 

Credit Katie Basile / KYUK
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KYUK
Father Vasily leads the congregation in prayer as they remember those who were lost over the past year on the last day of Slaviq in Napaskiak, January 9, 2017.

familiar to most of them.

“The star is an icon of the star of the east, which guided the wise men to where our lord Jesus Christ was born," Vasily said. 

Vasily says in the Russian Orthodox tradition, the home is a holy place where God can be found. That’s why Slaviq is celebrated in homes as well as in the church.

He says the star spins to represent that the faith is alive within both the people here today, and those that aren’t.

“In the Yup’ik tradition they say we’re helping to have our loved ones who passed on here with us, and having the same feast day with us, and celebrating with us," Vasily said. 

A man passes out gifts, candy mostly, but also soaps and a pair of gloves. Practical things for a practical people who allow that practicality to slip into extravagance one day out of the year. But just like that, it’s over.

When the boxes of candy are empty and the sun is full in the sky, it seems that some sort of magical dream has ended and it’s time to go back to reality. But as people go about their day, they carry the slight smell of frankincense with them and hum hymns quietly as they work. The tradition stays alive, and with them until next year.

Credit Katie Basile / KYUK
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KYUK
John Jacob leads the way from house to house with the Slaviq star in Napaskiak on January 9, 2017.

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