Christmas In New Orleans

I was reminded by reading online my former hometown New Orleans Times Picayune newspaper why Christmas here in Portland seems to be a little less active place. The traditions of an old city with a unique demographics and a diverse background produce many interesting variations. It's why most New Orleans not only do not consider their city to be a "southern city", but not even a city in the United States. The culture, though mostly typically American, there is too different not to notice those differences. They make New Orleans the most singular of American cities.

Having written that, there are quite a few Christmas time differences about New Orleans. First, in South Louisiana,  on Christmas Eve they set stacks of wood on fire along the levees of the Mississippi River to light the way for Papa Noel (Santa Claus).  Cajun traditions at Christmas include a Christmas bonfire, huge stacks of lumber set fire along the banks of the Mississippi River so Santa can see where to deposit those presents. There are few New Orleanians who haven't participated in or watched on of those.

Then there is the famous 'Night Before Christmas' poem we all know... but New Orleanians tell it in a different way, in Louisiana Cajun French style. Alligator Gaston is Rudoph and the dialogue is typically Louisianian. Ah, it's too hard to explain. Listen to it yourself at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1RqHHbpx1A That's the Cajun twist to New Orleans Christmas, but there are more differences between Christmas anywhere else in the U.S. and Christmas in New Orleans.

Then there is the Christmas parade. New Orleans has many and they fit anyone's idea of what parade should be. In New Orleans, they throw beads, food and toys and other things at their parades, Mardi Gras or not. So if Santa doesn't make it to your house you can get a few gifts from the costumed parade goes on the Christmas parade floats. Those parades range from Disney innocent to the typical French Quarter adult raunchy or satirical version.  You might see Ms. Claus dressed in  less than red and white. I suspect if Santa ever came across a New Orleans Christmas parade he would never finish his toy deliveries for the holiday. They are too much fun to leave.

Other cities don't seem to know how to dispose or recycle their Christmas trees after the holiday is over and they are placed on curbs in front of houses in neighborhoods in the city. New Orleans is very specific in recycling their trees. Every year, to battle coastal erosion, the residents strip their trees of all decorations and on designated pick up days set our trees out on the curb for pickup to be delivered to special Santa's helpers who dump them in the marshes and swamps.  Placing bundled trees in swamps, marsh and other coastal waterways has been an incredible benefit in stopping the loss of land to water, given water surrounds everything in Lousiana. Many miles of coastline have been rebuilt because of the sediment the trees catch and hold where they are placed.

Food is the heartbeat of New Orleans and Se. Louisiana. There may not be better food anywhere in the United States than what is there, all year round there. So, leave it to the locals to have come up with the Christmas Day dinner entree calls Turducken. It's caught on so that turducken shows up in a lot of places across the U.S.  What is a turducken. It's stuffing a chicken into a duck into a turkey, with layers of various stuffing in between....rice stuffing bread stuffing, seafood stuffing, spicy and mild stuffing. As they say in Louisiana, it tastes so good it will make you slap your momma!  I could go on to write about all the Christmas food inventions of New Orleans, but doing so will only make me miss eating them too much.

But the best part of New Orleans Christmas food tradition  is dished out each December, as some of the city's most renowned restaurants roll out Reveillon menus inspired by the 19th-century Creole Christmas tradition. In the city's past Creole families would start celebrating Christmas Day in the early morning hours with lavish feasts to break what was a traditional day of fasting on Christmas eve. Instead of feasting just on Christmas morning. They still do it. If you are curious about what kinds of food those restaurants serve in December  Reveillon dinners check this site for details  http://www.frenchquarter.com/reveillon-dinners/

New Orleans is know for its endless supply of alcohol. Since Papa Noel gets a snootfull himself from time to time imbibing Christmas themed alcoholic drunks is the norm. Two examples is the eggnog daiquiri and bourbon milk punch. Who needs eggnog when you have that.  Nothing says Christmas like eggnog you can get from a daiquiri drive through windows, that is. Yep! New Orleans vendors legally sells daiquiri's to people operating their automobile via drive through daiquiri stores. I've never ahd the frozen Bourbon Punch, so you can try it for me if ever in that city.

Maybe I should just let Louis Armstrong tell you about Christmas time in New Orleans. He'll sing it to you in his great tune 'Christmas in New Orleans'. Listen and you'll understand what it means to be in New Orleans at  Christmas time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ-xfh75cMM