Christmas Eve Bonfires
- December 31, 2001
- Rated 4 of 5 by
nsalex from Austin, Texas
Every Christmas Eve the people of Lutcher, LA set up bonfires along the levee of the Mississipi River. It is an old tradition, rumored to have started in the 1880's, meant to light the way for Papa Noel so he could find the homes of children living out in the middle of swamp country. Now, the people of Lutcher build big bonfires, about every 50 to 100 yards along the levee, stretching for about 6 to 7 miles. Almost all bonfires are also equipped with boxes of fireworks at the top, so once they are set on fire they really explode. What is really cool is as far as the eye can see are all these bonfires set up along the river. It is a really great Christmas tradition. It is about 35-45 minutes from New Orleans, about 5 minutes off Highway 10.
From journal Christmas in New Orleans