Christmas in Greenland – 2019

First and foremost, I would like to say that Christmas is the biggest holiday in Greenland and it is celebrated for almost a month!

It is like “December = Christmas”

There are many ways to celebrate Christmas in Greenland.

Lighting the town Christmas Tree

First, people in Nuuk gather on the first Sunday of advent. This year, it was December 1st. There was a Christmas tree light-up event in the center of Nuuk where Santa Claus came and lit the tree. 

It is not the best quality of photo but he was on the ladder truck!

Personally I have no religion.

But I love celebrating Christmas and I like learning how people celebrate Christmas.

Hanging an Advent Star

One thing I have been doing since 2015 was putting up or decorating with this orange star by the window.

If you have a chance to visit Greenland in December, you will find this orange star in almost every window of each building.

I wrote the year on the star so I can see how many years I have celebrated Christmas with this star.

Celebrating 2019 Christmas with a hobby

It might be a bit different from family to family but this is what I have seen and how I have celebrated so far in Greenland.

Some families gather every Sunday in December and eat together and bake cakes or cookies together. Some people go to the church

This year, I have spent a very special second Sunday of advent.

It is because, for the first time, I joined a Christmas concert at the church in Greenland as a pianist.

Yes, this is me – super nervous. haha

Joining the concert means a lot to me. This made me feel like I am part of this society. In fact, thanks to my dear friend who is working at the church in Greenland as an organist, I have participated in several concerts at the church this year as a pianist.

I have played the piano since the age of 5 and I wanted to be a pianist when I was young. But at some point, I just decided to have it as one of my hobbies.

So, this year, I played an Easter concert, then a Summer concert, then an Autumn concert. And the last, this Christmas concert was held on the second Sunday of advent – December 8th, 2019.

I was so nervous because this concert was aired live to the whole Greenland by KNR TV – Greenlandic National Broadcasting System. Of course, there was a large audience in the church as well!

It was an extremely amazing experience and I felt so good to be there!

If you want to watch the whole Christmas concert, here is the link 🙂

Hope everyone has a good and warm Christmas holiday with family and friends! 

Read more travel blogs from Insuk Kim