My Character Papa Noel

A New Orleans Creole Santa Claus is a composite of historic Christian and pagan folklore: St. Nicholas, Dr. Clement Clarke Moore's "The Night Before Christmas",the beautiful Victorian illustrations of Thomas Nast, the rustic folksy Cajun Santas' of James Rice and Terri Dunham, and the Marquis Antoine Xavier Bernard Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville, the most Creole of the Creoles. All of these influences, I have transformed into an 18th century New Orleans Creole Santa in attitude, customs and dress.

Lloyd Sensat