Holiday Gems and Traditions in the Crescent City

AS A CITY THAT LOVES NOTHING more than celebrating, New Orleans has no shortage of memorable experiences to celebrate the holiday season. Whether you live to see the glitter of the lights, prefer stepping back in time for traditions gone by, or just can’t wait for a parade, all of your holiday heart’s desires and dreams can come true in the Crescent City. December is a great time to explore the city while she is dressed in her holiday finery. Here, I have put together a few holiday treasures you may not know about but would not want to miss.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS AT THE HISTORIC HERMANN-GRIMA AND GALLIER HOUSES

Traditions take center stage this holiday season at the Hermann-Grima and Gallier Houses. Step back in time and explore the rich, multicultural Christmas traditions of 19th-century New Orleans through holiday tours. These tours showcase Christmas celebrations from Christmas Eve through January 8, blending Creole, European, and American customs with festive and solemn observances.

Prepare to discover 1830s Creole holiday customs at Hermann-Grima House, particularly the grand New Year’s Day celebrations, with a Creole Holiday Traditions tour. Running six days a week from November 13 to January 6, enjoy New Year’s Day customs and traditional decorations like lush magnolia, holly, and pine garlands spread hither and to. For a smell that captures the essence of days gone by Christmas, look for pomanders. These heavenly fragrant oranges and clove balls, inspired by the French pomme d’ambre, bring a warm and spicy aroma everyone loves at Christmastime.

Also hosted at the Hermann-Grima House is a cooking demonstration called Open-Hearth Cooking Demonstrations and a special Hannukah event. The demonstrations will include cooking in the original 1830s open-hearth kitchen using authentic recipes, methods, and tools.

The Hannukah event will include latke cooking demonstrations, traditional music, and other Hanukkah observances that have been treasured for over 2,000 years.

If you seek a Victorian-era Christmas, tour the Gallier House for A Nineteenth-Century Christmas. This tour, which runs six days a week from November 13 to January 6, focuses on Victorian holiday traditions and décor. Visitors will also gain insight into the complex experiences of enslaved people, for whom the holiday season was a mix of brief respite, family gatherings, and bittersweet celebrations.

This immersive experience will reveal the longcelebrated New Orleans Christmas as a time of introspection and cultural expression. You will not be disappointed as you embrace the history and timeless traditions that are still held sacred.

THE RÉVEILLON DINNER: A LOVELY TRADITION, INDEED

Step into a New Orleans restaurant this holiday season, where flickering candles and holiday regalia create an unforgettable atmosphere and feast called the Réveillon dinner. This holiday dining tradition is rooted in Catholic customs. Derived from the French word for

“awakening,” Réveillon began as a feast after Midnight Mass, allowing families to break their fast and celebrate Christmas with a grand meal. This cherished tradition continues today, with restaurants offering Réveillon dinners throughout the holiday season.

Located in the former Rodd Brothers Molasses Refinery in the Warehouse District, Briquette offers a warm and charming holiday atmosphere. From November 26th through New Year’s Day, merrymakers can dine on a special Réveillon menu, including four courses of delectable fare. Begin with a classic Shrimp Remoulade, followed by your choice of Oyster Rockefeller, served in a mini skillet with fried oysters and hollandaise, or a hearty Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. For the third course, select from Blackened Redfish with crawfish étouffée and heirloom potatoes, a Porter House of Pork crusted with bleu cheese and topped with a fig demi-glace alongside pork belly plantain mash and green beans, or Veal Osso Buco with pasta. Dessert is a mouthwatering choice of Holiday Bread Pudding Beignets or Satsuma Cake. Then, finish your meal with a bit of lagniappe in the form of Anna’s Grasshopper cocktail.

As always, at Briquette, you can expect every bite to be crafted with the finest, freshest ingredients to deliver bold flavors and a truly memorable dining experience.

Since 2019, ANNUNCIATION, also in the Warehouse District, has embraced the New Orleans tradition, offering a five-course meal with its renowned Reveillon Menu, offered this season from November 29 through December 23. Dine in a space decked in holiday finery, with holiday tunes from the live piano on Saturday evenings adding to the festive ambiance.

Start with the chef’s choice amuse-bouche, then choose from tasty options like Paneed Oysters with >> a lemon beurre blanc or a vegetarian-friendly Potato Gnocchi in a Parmesan mushroom sauce. Follow this with hearty selections such as Duck & Andouille Gumbo or a refreshing Winter Salad. Savor choices like Speckled Trout in a rich lobster sauce, Beef Wellington with a cabernet reduction, or the Mediterranean-inspired Eggplant medallions for the main course. Complete your meal with sweet delights, as you choose housemade cheesecake with orange liqueur, a classic Italian cannoli, or Tiramisu. And this year, Annunciation features a holiday-inspired cocktail crafted to complement the season’s flavors.

Embracing the tradition of the Réveillon dinner is quintessential New Orleans, but with a twist that allows one to savor the flavors and holiday charm more than just Christmas Eve. Why limit the good times and great food to one night?

Holiday Cruises And Tours With That Nola Twist

Celebrate Christmas in true New Orleans style with unique holiday experiences that capture the city’s spirit, culture, and history by taking a motor coach tour or a cruise on the Mighty Mississippi. The New Orleans Steam Boat Company features a Christmas and New Year’s Eve cruise. If you would rather stay on dry land, opt for a city tour or an iconic bonfire tour on a Gray Line coach.

Step aboard the Steamboat Natchez on the mighty Mississippi for a festive Christmas Eve cruise. As you roll along, soak up the sounds of live jazz from the Dukes of Dixieland while dining on a Creole-inspired dinner and festive holiday cocktails as you peer at the sparkling New Orleans skyline. Santa even manages a quick stop to make a special appearance, adding a family-friendly touch to a night no one will soon forget.

For another memorable celebration aboard the Steamboat Natchez, ring in the New Year amid three spacious decks as you indulge in an exquisite array of hand-passed hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and live music. Then, end 2024 with a dazzling midnight fireworks show in true Crescent City style as you welcome 2025.

Experience Louisiana’s holiday traditions of the magic of bonfires and bright lights with Gray Line’s Bonfire Adventure Tour and City Highlights Tour. Start your journey along the Mississippi River as you make your way to the Destrehan Plantation, where you will be served a traditional holiday dinner, then, off to the levee for the time-honored bonfires. The glorious “faux de joie,” or fires of joy, light the way for Papa Noel, or as many believe, radiate the path to Midnight Mass. One thing is sure: witnessing this stunning custom will be an unforgettable experience.

For an even better peek at Christmas in New Orleans, hop on the Gray Line’s City Tour to explore the French Quarter, Treme, and Faubourg Marigny, with captivating stories of voodoo and piracy, scenic stops at Audubon Park and the Garden District, and a stroll through the festive Roosevelt Hotel lobby. With New Orleans’ skyline and holiday spirit as the backdrop, these tours promise a holiday experience of a lifetime.

I LOVE A PARADE, AND SO DOES NEW ORLEANS!

What would any occasion be in New Orleans without a parade? Christmastime is no exception, as no one brings the parade revelry like New Orleans.

Begin your day of parading at 11:00 A.M. with the Children’s Hospital Holiday Parade, which will roll on December 7th, making its way through the French Quarter and Downtown to Lafayette Square. Kern Studios has customdesigned over 20 holiday-themed floats decked out with animatronic props, special effects, sound systems, and classic rider floats. Spectators can also look forward to towering helium balloons, marching bands (If you know, you know.), and, of course, Santa Claus!

Take in another parade on Dec. 7th at 7:30 PM with the Krewe of Krampus. Adding a distinctive New Orleans parade experience, the Krewe of Krampus will have the streets rumbling with clanking chains, ringing bells, and horns, in the thrill only a New Orleans parade can deliver. Krampus himself, complete with switches in hand, will lead the moonlit Krampuslauf Parade alongside Saint Nicholas and a misfit crew of legendary folklore creatures, including the Frau Perchta, the Yule Cat, Knecht Ruprecht, Belsnickel, and the trickster Swampus, and not to worry, the Y’ules will be out in force, prowling the streets alongside the mystic Sisters of Shhh.

The West End Christmas Boat Parade is a delightful and dazzling holiday celebration you won’t want to miss this season. On December 14th, prepare for Lake Ponchartrain to transform into a shimmering wonderland, where boats glide across the water decked out in brilliant holiday lights, beginning at the New Basin Canal Lighthouse along Lakeshore Drive and on to Canal Blvd. Witness this magical scene that brings the spirit of the season to life. It’s a floating parade of holiday joy, painting the water with the colors of Christmas.