Kaffemik

I can’t believe it has taken me this long to write about Kaffemik! My friend Manu invited me to my first Kaffemik the very first week I was here, and since then I’ve had the pleasure of going to several.  A Kaffemik – which literally means, “Give me coffee,” is a Greenlandic tradition.  It is a celebration mostly for birthdays, but also confirmations, anniversaries, weddings – anything happy.

What happens is a time is set up, say between 2pm and 6pm – and you are invited to drop by.  Normally you get an email or a text the day or the day before.  You should always bring a gift.  When you arrive, you sit down at the table and enjoy yummy homemade cakes and coffee. If the table is full, you wait until someone gets up and leaves.  What it creates is a steady flow of people coming and going througout the afternoon.

Nikki's 1st birthday - he's wearing traditional anorak and kamiks - and missing his Mom I think!

If you know the person well, you can show up more towards the end of the time frame – that way if they have run out of cakes, it’s not too embarrassing.  There is often Greenlandic delicacies too, like mattak (whale skin).

hmm, mattak!

Its a perfect solution for small communities who inevitably have to invite everyone to any celebration.