CHAPTER VIII 



BIRTHDAYS A HARD-WORKING PEOPLE JOSHUA THE IVORY- 

 CARVER CLOTHING AND CLEANLINESS OLD AGE 



ONE little family custom that has gained a firm 

 place in the hearts of the Eskimos is the cele- 

 bration of birthdays. 



This appeals to their sense of the picturesque, 

 and a birthday is never allowed to slip by without 

 some little attempt at marking the day. What the 

 number of years may be makes no difference ; elderly 

 folks are just as fond as the children of the tokens 

 that make the day a special one ; and Eskimos are 

 not people who are shy of letting their ages be 

 known ; indeed, a fiftieth birthday is a time of special 



S 

 Many a time I have gone into houses and found 

 corations of moss and green leaves, or coloured 

 I paper when there are no leaves, fastened upon the 

 walls, and as likely as not the number of the person's 

 ! years worked ( in moss or wool and hung up like a 

 j wreath for all to admire ; and I have shaken hands 

 with men and women aye, and babies too, for the 

 babies must be noticed and have said, " Your birth- 

 ; day, eh ? how many years are you ? " which is the very 

 height of Eskimo politeness. Friends go running 

 into the house to offer good wishes ; there is food 

 for those who care to eat seal meat or codfish for 

 certain, and maybe a hunk of home-made dough 

 plentifully besprinkled with currants. 



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