Christmas almost anywhere is fun, but Christmas in New Orleans is no less than spectacular.
We never have snow and aren't even sure of having cold weather - but what we lack in seasonal luck,
we more than make up for in showmanship. New Orleanians love parties,
and we love to celebrate. So almost everyone joins in on decorating their homes and yards,
parks and streets. Most towns and cities decorate, but few do so quite as lavishly. There are places where traffic cops
have to help people navigate the streets which are the most heavily decorated.
The following pictures are just a sampling, and as usual, I am not a professional, and night pictures are always "iffy".
Enjoy them!



Joyeaux Noel is French for Merry Christmas
on the off-chance you didn't know! This
sign was featured on City Park's annual
lightshow which is a dazzling display of
decorated Christmas trees, walkways, hot
apple cider & chocolate stands, and
carolling schoolchildren. It is a great
tradition, and an excuse to go to the park
at night and ride the "Flying Horses"- a grand
old Victorian carousel made in Germany that
has delighted a century of New Orleanians,
children and adults alike.


This is not a high-quality picture,
I'm afraid, but this bright little
lawn tree was just too cute to pass
up on.


This was from one of the City
Park's "Celebration Under the"
Oaks" - a group of Christmas
trees on the neo-classical
concert stand, once used for
open-air summer concerts.


Also part of "Celebration
Under the oaks", this was a
sizable display of little
cottages made to look like
cute gingerbread houses.


Another scene from Celebration
Under the Oaks: part of the
driving tour, which winds through
the park in an endless stream of
cars. It covers almost every
inch of a park bigger than New
York's Central Park.


This light display was hanging
from the branches of oak trees
along Carrolton Avenue.


A huge rocking horse made of
Christmas tree lights! I do
not remember where it was
displayed, but it was fun
to see it all the same.


How about this great pirate ship?
Life-sized, too!


This is one of the "Dueling Oaks"
in City Park, which are hundreds of
years old, and once a site of duels
on foggy mornings. For Christmas,
even the Dueling Oaks are all
dressed up.


This was one of the residential
houses I happened to snap. There
were better ones, but I didn't
have the chance to get around for
most of the really nice decorations.


One of the avenues in the Celebration
Under the oaks.


The Loch Ness Monster is alive
and well, and he lives in one of
the New Orleans lagoons.


A decorated house in Metairie.


A decorated Uptown house.


The photo doesn't do this Uptown
house justice, but the lights are
twined in the tree branches in a
wonderful arrangement. I wish the
picture were better than this.


An arch of lights in the oak trees
above Carrolton Avenue.


Last, but clearly not least, a display
of colorful Hanukkah lights - one of
my favorites that year.