Christmastime in New Orleans

 New Orleans is a wonderful place to be for Christmas. The city is lit up and decked out to the fullest with lights, trees, and good times. There are certain things in New Orleans that make Christmas extra special for the people that live there. Mister Bingle is a Santa's snowman assistant. He was the Christmas mascot of Maison Blanche, a closed department store in New Orleans. Mister Bingle is a favorite of kids in a city where snow is rare.
                                         
Many people enjoy the late night concerts at St. Louis Cathedral during the season. A Miracle on Fulton Street is a newly popular event to compete with Celebration in the Oaks. On Fulton Street you can take pictures with Santa and his reindeer (yes actual live reindeer!), and see "sneaux" fall every hour.


Reveillon Dinners are making a comeback in the city. These are prolonged feasts, traditionally beginning around midnight, on the eves of Christmas and New Year’s by families in France. During the 1800s, New Orleans’ Creole families indulged in the réveillon. (The word is a form of the French word réveiller, which means, among other things, “to remain awake.” A typical early reveillon menu looked very much like breakfast, with egg dishes, breads and puddings, but could also include turtle soup, oysters and grits and grillades.