Terrebonne County Louisiana Archives News.....Bayou DuLarge Trappers Celebrate Late Christmas March 3, 1939
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Savanna King savanna18king@gmail.com August 12, 2023, 7:01 pm

The Houma Sun March 3, 1939
For most of us, Christmas came two months ago and by now has been forgotten, but 
more than 100 fur trappers and their children attended the annual Christmas 
celebration of the St. Andrew’s mission on Bayou Dularge last Saturday at three 
o’clock.

In charge of the arrangements for the delayed celebration of the Yule season was 
Mr. Skardon Daubert of Thibodaux, who also conducted the services. Misses Ruth 
Connely and Margarite Bisland were in charge of the arrangement of presents for 
the children of the congregation.

For many years the celebration of Christmas during the Lenten season has been 
the custom of the trappers who are away at work during the regular festivities.

Begun many years ago by the late Dr. Tucker of the St. Matthew’s Episcopal 
Church of Houma, the custom has become a tradition of the people of Bayou Du 
Large. More than thirty years ago, the illiteracy of this group of people was 
brought to the attention of Dr. Tucker. After several visits to that part of the 
parish, which required that he go by horse and buggy, he began more or less 
regular services. 

At first the celebration of Christmas was held at the usual time, but since the 
people of this section were away tending their traps at the time, Dr. Tucker 
postponed its celebration until the beginning of the Lenten season. And until 
this day, it has been celebrated almost two months late.

Interesting to note is the fact that the settlers of Bayou Du Large are not the 
typical French settlers of the South Louisiana coast. In fact, so little is 
known of the true history of the people and where the original settlers came 
from, that it is necessary to rely upon the imagination to explain their 
presence.

Of distinct Anglo-Saxon heritage, the majority of the people are imagined to be 
descendants of the escaped hostages of Jean Lafitte.

When asked by Dr. Tucker many years ago of their religion, all they knew was 
that they were Protestants. Since then, however, their religion has been more 
carefully subdivided and today they are devout Episcopalians, celebrating all of 
the church holidays, even though they have to wait until Lent to celebrate 
Christmas.


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