The bonfires will burn tonight.
The wooden pyramid structures sit along the levee near Gramercy, looming above River Road. For weeks, residents from the surrounding communities have hauled logs and chainsawed them to create the bonfires, preparing for the Christmas Eve lighting at 7 p.m., our media partners at The Advocate report.
The newspaper reports that this is a tradition that dates back more than a century, and various theories have been floated for its origin. Popular explanations include lighting the way for Catholic parishioners journeying to Midnight Mass or blazing a path for “Papa Noel,” according to the Louisiana Folklife website. In a 1990 Southern Folklore article by Marcia Gaudet, she proposed it was started by French immigrants in St. James Parish between 1880 and 1900.
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