The story behind South Mississippi's strange Christmas tradition

BILOXI -- Deck the hulls with boughs of holly and pilot all around the Mississippi Sound. This weekend marks the annual blending of Christmas with Mardi Gras, watercraft and fireworks.

With Biloxi's Christmas on the Water boat parade turning 30 on Saturday, South Mississippians are now accustomed to seeing giant candy canes and plastic reindeer floating by on a fleet of fishing boats in the Gulf of Mexico during the yuletide season.

Christmas on the Water, Biloxi's annual parade of boats covered with Christmas lights and other holiday decorations, has in many ways become a unique staple of the Coast.

The parade first appeared in 1986, but the idea dates to 1984 with a group of mariners sitting around a dinner table at Mary Mahoney's Old French House restaurant.

Rusty David, chairman of the Christmas on the Water committee, remembers how it all started.

David said Mary Mahoney, who was president-elect of the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce, wanted to do something unique for Christmas.

"We planted the seed in '84," David said. "It was a bunch of us sitting around Mary's restaurant, and she wanted to do something different because she was the first female president of the Biloxi Chamber."

The group of seafarers, which included David, were looking for an excuse to use their boats during the winter, thus the idea of a Christmas parade on the water was born.

"We don't normally use our boats in the wintertime," he said. "It was an opportunity to put people together on the boats during Christmastime and have a real nice family event."

Their grand scheme, however, was put on hold when Mahoney fell ill and died the following year, David said. Nevertheless, the group pulled together and saw Mahoney's dream come to life in 1986 with a parade of 28 boats.

Christmas on the Water was an instant hit, which grew larger every year until Hurricane Katrina.

David expects more than 40 boats in Saturday's parade, a slow and steady comeback from 2005. "We only had eight boats (after Katrina), but we went ahead and still did the parade that year," he said.

The event had peaked with 86 boats in 2004.

To generate interest, the Christmas on the Water Committee is raffling off $1,000 to any registered participant.

"We haven't gotten back to anywhere close to where we were before the storm, so I'm doing a $1,000 participation award," David said.

Saturday's parade will begin at 6 p.m. and proceeds from the Biloxi Lighthouse to Point Cadet. Participants, who pay a $25 registration fee, have their boats judged on lights, theme, music and overall appearance. The parade's grand finale is marked with a professional fireworks show shot from a barge at Deer Island.

Moss Point's version also runs Saturday.

Marty Orgeron, this year's parade captain of the Moss Point Christmas by the River, said about 25 boats participated in last year's event. He expects as many or more Saturday.

David said Christmas boat parades are just one of those things unique to the Mississippi Coast.

"It's about quality of life on the Coast and especially in Biloxi," he said.

Those who wish to be in the parade can register by attending a captains and skippers meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum at Point Cadet. Even those who don't have a boat can buy tickets to ride on the Seafood Industry Museum's schooner by calling 435-6320.

For more details on the boat parade, call Rusty David at 617-3112 or Mary Cruthirds at 388-7170 or 861-8171.

Gulfport's Christmas on the Bayou parade on Gulfport Lake will be 6 p.m. Dec. 12. It will run between The Dock Bar and Grill and the public boat ramps on the south side. The best public viewing is expected to be at the Blow Fly Inn and at the foot of the Cowan-Lorraine bridge, Kremer's Landing and Switzer Park. For information, call 896-4869.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 4:28 PM with the headline "The story behind South Mississippi's strange Christmas tradition."