Inuvik (Feb 09/04) - Like most places in Canada, flowers, chocolates and cards are standard fare for Valentine's Day lovers in the Beaufort Delta. But that wasn't always the case.

Gulshan Esmail of Inuvik has her first Valentine's Day box all plotted out. She plans on filling it with corn flake and almond cookies -- her specialty -- and a homemade sandwich to share. - Erin Fletcher/NNSL photo

In communities like Aklavik and Fort McPherson people more often said "I love you" with a box lunch.

"We would make the boxes really fancy, put food inside and then, when the time comes, a boy buys it and you eat with him," said Sarah Gardlund, an Aklavik elder.

The boxes were raffled off in secret, so the boy would never know whose lunch he was buying until he opened the lid.

"We'd put food in it like boiled caribou, dried meat and dried fish," said Martha Moses of Fort McPherson.

"The man who buys your box is your sweetheart for the day."

Moses said the boxes go

back a long time.

So do the dances, teas and card contests enjoyed within the region.

"(Valentine's Day) used to be a big social thing but it's quieted down now," said Annie Aleekuk, who grew up in Aklavik but now works as the activities coordinator at the long-term care ward in Inuvik Regional Hospital.

"In school we used to make cards and send them to whomever. We'd see who had the funniest verse or the sweetest words. Then there would be a big social dance after."

For elders, love was a much more private thing then it is today. It was something kept between a husband and wife, said Aleekuk.

Young love was shown through subtle gestures.

"If you respect them you might give them a little present," said Aleekuk.

Some communities continue old traditions.

Moose Kerr school in Aklavik still has an annual Valentine's Day card contest. The best three homemade cards in each grade get a cash prize from the hamlet.

The community also continues to hold a boxed lunch social and dance, Feb. 14.

"There are a lot of good boxes," said Dean McLeod, hamlet recreation co-ordinator.

As in times past, people decorate the outside of the boxes with hearts and lace and fill the inside with food.

But instead of being raffled off, the boxes are judged and then returned to the maker to share with a friend of their choice, said McLeod.