NEW ORLEANS — In New Orleans, Santa handles Christmas morning and Benny Grunch takes it from there.
"Christmas, Christmas Eve, Holidays — that's when you go to work," said Grunch, settling onto the stage at the Rock n' Bowl Christmas night.
A huge crowd, many decked out in embellished sweaters and Santa Claus hats, assembled to enjoy some: "Traditional New Orleans Christmas music," as Lisda Simoneaux described it.
For almost 30 years, New Orleans has sung along to the 12 Yats of Christmas, both on the radio and on WWL-TV.
Jeff Ertle, who describes himself as "new to New Orleans," says he can still appreciate the sentiment of the song.
"I know that most of the things that they sing in the song are no longer here, except Dixie beer," he said.
One fan was even inspired to bring the lyrics into the Christmas decorations at her workplace.
"Every part of the cubicle had a different part of the song," said Debbie Poelman. "We had the 11 Schwegmann bags, we had the 12 Manuel hot tamales, we had the 17th Street Canal, everything. We did every single part of the song."
"It's an iconic song," she said.
Every Christmas, fans use the Benny Grunch and the Bunch show as an excuse to break it down on the dance floor, or maybe even get a little break from family.
Sharon Blanche makes it a yearly tradition. She said, "We just come with all of our friends after having a day with our family."
Don Cross and his wife both appreciate the yearly show. "We usually see Benny every Christmas, somewhere. So, this was the night," said Cross.
For New Orleans, it's a way to roll into 2020, before 2019 drives ya' nuts!
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