Illuminating t he way to a joyful Christmas BY FRED NEWBER
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THE Port of Wilmington has a long history of being lit
by luminarias, a series of lights similar to those that,
according to legend, lit the way for Joseph and Mary
in their search for lodging in Bethlehem at that first
Christmas so long ago.
In the Southwestern United States, luminarias are paper lanterns,
traditionally consisting of a candle sitting in sand at the bottom
of a bag. But in keeping with Wilmington’s maritime history, the
first luminarias here were likely the warm, glowing lights that led
the sailing ships of yesteryear along the winding course of the Cape
Fear River to the city’s docks.
Wilmington is situated some 29 miles upriver from the entrance
into the Cape Fear River near Southport. As if to mark the river’s
channels in Christmas luminarias, 33 river lights were installed
along the river highway on December 1, 1912.
The lights were fueled by acetylene. They replaced 29 older oil
lights, which were set atop flimsy wooden structures at dangerous
changes in the river channels.
From an even earlier
time, perhaps the
mid-1700s, stories
are told of plantation
owners along the river
lighting open fires to
guide ships along their
way to the port. These
open fires would have
been true luminarias
leading the sailing ships
of yesteryear to the city.
The tradition of setting luminarias along important pathways at
Christmas time comes from Mexico, where the custom was intro-duced
by Spanish settlers who called these guiding lights farolitos,
or little lanterns.
In the United States, the oldest luminaria tradition is found
among the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, who have long lit small
fires outside their homes to light their way to church at Christmas
Eve. And in a tradition nearly as old from Louisiana, Christmas
Eve bonfires still guide the faithful to Midnight Mass along water
courses in the bayous.
Although there is no record of farolitos guiding the faithful to
church services in Wilmington, there is a historical note telling us
that Pembroke Jones led his guests with luminarias at Christmas to
a gathering place on Horseshoe Lake in the modern Landfall area.
In the early 1900s, Jones erected a suspension foot bridge over the
lake and lit the bridge and the pathway to it with beautiful Japanese
lanterns.
Another type of Christmas luminaria associated with Jones was
the great “Christmas Tree Burning” held in the Pembroke Jones
Playground located in the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Market Street
in Wilmington. In the days after Christmas in the early 1900s, resi-dents
disposed of their old and dried out Christmas trees in a great
heap set in the middle of the playground. As the curtain of night
fell on New Year’s Eve, the pile of trees was lit.
There was a deep man-made canal called McCumber’s Ditch
that extended from Smith Creek up 14th Street nearly to Jones’
playground, and when the great Christmas tree bonfire was lit,
beautiful reflections of the fiery light lit the waters of the old canal.
In the center of the park, the light of burning Christmas trees lit a
circular wading pool built especially for children.
Left: New Mexico residents have a long-standing tradition of including luminarias in their
Christmas decorations. Top: In Louisiana, bonfires are traditionally lit on the levees along the
Mississippi River on Christmas Eve. Opposite top: Luminarias along a lake in New Mexico line a
path that leads to Christmas Eve mass.
NEW ORLEANS & COMPANY/ NEWORLEANS.COM
CHRISTOPHER HOLDEN