The Lighting of the Bonfires on Christmas Eve will return to St. James Parish for the 2021 holiday season.
St. James Parish Government announced that the indigenous tradition will return from November 21 until December 27. The bonfires will then be lit on Christmas Eve.
"I am overjoyed to have this special event return to our community this year. I want to thank our parish council, festival of the bonfires officials, and our local leaders for working together to ensure this event was made possible again this year," Parish President Pete Dufresne said in a press release. "I look forward to sharing in the holiday season with our residents and I know this Christmas will be one to remember."
According to histroric context of The Historic Indian Tribes of Louisiana: From 1542 to the Present Louisiana, the indigenous people of St. James, the Mugulasha ("people from the other side"), maintained perpetual fires burning in two village temples. The temples were the same size as their homes, but decorated with animal carvings. Some sources say they may have been the same tribe as the Quinipissa, Acolapissa , Bayougoula and the Tangipahoa.
Permits will be available to build a bonfire temple on the levee. Registration begins on November 20 at the St. James Parish Welcome Center in Gramercy.
Parish officials say that permitted bonfire construction may not begin until Sunday, November 21. No household construction or demolition debris from Hurricane Ida or other storms will be allowed on the levee.
For permit information, click here.
For more information about bonfire country,click here.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers
