NEW ORLEANS — It wouldn’t be the Holiday Season in New Orleans without the beloved Christmas character Mr. Bingle.
The magical snowman that could fly with green wings and has an ice cream cone for a hat was created by a worker at the local department store chain, Maison Blanche, who was visiting Chicago and was inspired by the way the Windy City did the holiday.
The character was conceived in 1947 and was originally called Snow Doll but the owner of the department store wanted the character to have the initials M.B. and so, Mr. Bingle made his public debut in 1948 as a way to boost holiday sales at the retailer.
Mr. Bingle started as a puppet entertaining people in the Canal Street storefront window before evolving into a symbol of Christmas in New Orleans long after the century-old store permanently closed its doors in 1998.
Today, Mr. Bingle can be seen on display among the Holiday light displays in Celebration in the Oaks.
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