10 Things Louisianans Do at Christmas That Nobody Else Does

In Cajun Country, Santa goes by Papa Noël, and kids leave their shoes out for him.

Louisianans grow up with traditions like that, but they often sound strange to anyone from out of state.

Here are the things Louisianans do at Christmas that few other Americans do.

1. Levee Bonfires

Christmas Eve can mean a Mississippi River levee lined with bonfires.

In 1999, builders stacked more than 100 of them along a stretch of levee just 3.4 miles long near Gramercy, Lutcher and Paulina.

Builders traditionally make narrow pyramids, but they often get creative with log cabins, trains and swamp creatures.

The fires burn on Christmas Eve, and people gather from near and far to watch.

You can pick your legend.

One explanation says the fires light the way for Papa Noël.

Some historians say the fires guided ships on the river to Midnight Mass instead.

In New Orleans, Explore Louisiana lists a bonfire in Algiers.

Lutcher adds a Festival of the Bonfires in mid-December.

The 36th annual festival ran December 12 to 14, 2025, at Lutcher Recreational Park, with a gumbo cook-off and a ceremonial bonfire lighting.

2. Leaving Shoes for Papa Noël

At Christmas, many Cajuns call Santa Claus Papa Noël.

Like the French Père Noël, he leaves toys for children after Catholic Mass on Christmas Eve, according to Lafayette Travel.

You may know the shoe tradition.

In some households, children leave their shoes out for him to fill with money, toys or candy.

In Lafayette’s telling, he visits children in a pirogue, a small boat, pulled by a team of alligators.

3. Cajun Night Before Christmas

Cajun Night Before Christmas gives the classic Christmas poem a South Louisiana twist.

Santa arrives in a flying skiff, a small boat used in coastal areas, with alligators pulling it.

Explore Louisiana includes the book among South Louisiana’s holiday traditions.

The book follows a similar storyline but includes local lingo, so if you read it aloud, you’ll want a thick Cajun accent.

Pelican Publishing first published it in 1973 and says it has sold more than one million copies.

4. Réveillon Dinners

Réveillon dinners began as a New Orleans custom among Catholic families, who ate after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve to end the Church’s fast.

The menu was a feast of seafood gumbo, roast meats, dressings, desserts, wine and eggnog.

By the 1920s, most New Orleans home kitchens had fallen in line with American conventions, and local historians helped bring the dinner back for the 1986 holidays.

Each December, dozens of New Orleans restaurants serve prix-fixe réveillon menus, according to the city’s official tourism group.

You can read the menus on the official Holiday New Orleans website, where participating restaurants post them.

5. Celebration in the Oaks

Celebration in the Oaks is a Christmas season light festival at New Orleans City Park, and it has run since the 1980s.

You can take the driving or walking tour, pick up the annual ornament and roast marshmallows.

The park says the festival draws over 135,000 visitors and is vital to its maintenance, care and beautification year round.

6. Natchitoches Christmas Festival

Natchitoches tourism officials date the Christmas festival to the 1920s, and they call it one of the oldest community-based holiday celebrations in the country.

You’ll see more than 300,000 lights and more than 100 set pieces along Cane River.

The six-week season begins the Saturday before Thanksgiving, which is November 21 this year, and ends January 6.

Festival Day is traditionally the first Saturday in December, and the official calendar lists December 5 for 2026.

7. Noel Acadien au Village

Noel Acadien au Village is a Christmas light display at Acadian Village in Lafayette, with more than 500,000 lights, according to Explore Louisiana.

You can also take photos with Santa and shop for the holidays there.

It's part of Lafayette's annual Cajun and Creole Christmas, which also includes Christmas markets, concerts, holiday window displays and caroling.

8. Golden Meadow Boat Parade

Golden Meadow has held a Christmas boat parade on Bayou Lafourche, with decorated boats lit up.

In December 2025, the Golden Meadow Boat Parade ran for the fifth year in a row.

It started at Golden Meadow Catholic Church and headed north to the South Lafourche Lift Bridge.

In 2025, organizers welcomed all boats.

Explore Louisiana also lists a Christmas boat parade in Delcambre.

9. Vermilionville's Old Time Winter Traditions

At Christmas, Vermilionville's Old Time Winter Traditions in Lafayette run for a month, from candle and soap making to cooking and even writing letters to Papa Noël.

On Old Time Family Christmas Day, children have been able to meet Papa Noël in person.

You can check Vermilionville for this year's schedule before you go.

10. Oyster Dressing and Seafood Gumbo

Christmas dinner in Cajun Country often includes oyster dressing and seafood gumbo, Explore Louisiana says.

Local seafood is part of the tradition, since a South Louisiana holiday dinner isn't complete without it.

If you're invited to a Cajun Country Christmas, you may also see a turducken, a signature dish.

Bread pudding and pralines are among the desserts, too.

A Nineteenth-Century Creole Christmas

Christmas in nineteenth-century New Orleans was a two-day affair, particularly among the devoutly Catholic Creoles.

Dinner on Christmas Day was a family meal served in early afternoon, and you'd have found dozens of desserts on the table.