Christmas Bonfires Along the Levee
On the banks of the mighty Mississippi (between Baton Rouge and New Orleans) lies a stretch of River Road that goes through St John and St James Parish. Four small towns on this stretch of road include Garyville, Lutcher, Gramercy & Paulina that hosts a yuletide tradition of building and lighting hundreds of bonfires. This year the Christmas bonfires along the levee feature a Bullfrog & Bottle of Crown that will light the way for Santa.
The yearly ritual starts shortly after Thanksgiving when locals and youngsters alike start collecting materials to build the wooden monuments that they’ll torch a short 4 weeks later. The beginnings of the tradition are murky. By most accounts French Marist Priests brought it over from Western Europe when they came to teach after the Civil War. Oral histories from the 1800’s mention these bonfires and what began as a local celebration has grown over the past few decades. Like a huge tailgate party, thousands of people of all ages, races and nationalities descend on these bayou communities to eat, drink and celebrate on the levee. Cars traveling bumper to bumper stretch for miles on the winding two-lane River Road. When the fires are first lit, fireworks in the background go off and the captains of ships and riverboats lay into their horns in a loud show of support.
Traditional bonfires are pyramid shaped however there are special ones that come in various shapes and take months to prepare and build. Blood, Sweat & Bonfires have become masters of the bonfire building. They have built bonfires ranging from an alligator, a pelican, a crab, a snapping turtle, a large mouth bass as well as this years bullfrog and Crown Royal bottle.
There are many stories about the origins of the bonfires. One of the most popular is that following the Civil War the locals had no money to buy Christmas presents. The kids were all told that Papa Noel had lost his way. Once things got better they started lighting bonfires to help illuminate the way for Papa Noel (Cajun for Santa Claus). This was to insure he never had a problem again finding his way to “good little girls and boys” again. In this deeply Catholic community, symbolisms and meanings go deep but everyone has their own stories and folklore funs deep. They also love a great party.
These magnificent “fires in the night” are built by private groups. Visitors can usually penetrate the groups if they offer kind words and complements while simply walking down the levee. The River Parishes are a prideful community and well-versed in Southern hospitality. Gumbo, beer and liquor (did anyone say Crown Royal) flow freely as nights in December can be chilly…..and occasionally rainy. A synchronized lighting takes place at 7PM when officials of both parishes determine if the event proceeds or gets postponed. While wet bonfires might take a little longer to light, wind is always the deciding factor.
Eventually the bonfires started getting larger (and higher). With Marathon Oil and other chemical plants in the nearby vicinity growing the neighborhoods grew as well. Some of the bonfire builders started using tires and construction debris in the fires. This keep them lit for longer periods of time. The Christmas seasons also brought the occasional strong winds and rain. Safety and environmental concerts brought about the need for permits ($30) as well as insurance and regulations. Government entities can build the larger fires but the fires themselves can’t contain “shooting” fireworks within them.
For more on the rules and regulations CLICK HERE
A Festival of the Bonfires is the official start of the festivities and takes place in Lutcher Recreational Park. This 3 day event takes place two weeks before Christmas Eve. It features both a gumbo and bread pudding cook-off by some of the best cooks in Cajun country. Besides Cajun food, there are plenty of carnival rides, live bands, Santa’s Merry Forest and a fireworks display. It culminates with the lighting of a single bonfire lighting on each of the 3 nights.
Patriotic Christmas Bonfires along levee (Photo by Trey Merrill)
Getting There
Visitors looking to join in the festivities should take LA-3213 to LA-44 (River Rd). Exit before the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Gramercy and then drive West. This will lead to the first bonfires then drive along River Road through Gramercy, Lutcher and Paulina. If you head East on River Rd then you’ll catch the structures in St John Parish. The Bullfrog (and the other yearly specialty bonfires) take place at 3228 Hwy 44 in Garyville. While there are other bonfires along the river this is where the largest concentration of bonfires are located.
If you want to enjoy the bonfires then get there early, walk the levee and take pictures.
1 min and 30 sec of fireworks footage leads up to the lighting of the bonfires…hesitation at small flame then ending in full flame.
* Several photos above “photographer unknown”. If anyone knows the name of the photographers please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know. I’ll be happy to give them a photo credit and a link their own site. We feel their artistic eye imagery added to the telling of story we may have missed.
FOLLOW US @ WWW.TWOROADDOGS.COM