These 7 unique traditions celebrate Christmas on the MS Coast. Here are their stories

Under colorful lights and on quiet winter beaches, the Mississippi Coast’s Christmas traditions are thriving.

There is a snowman made of sand. A tree made of crab traps. Christmas parades — by boat. The traditions are few of many on an endless December calendar.

Here are the stories of how the Coast’s most unique holiday festivities began.

Sandyman

The beloved snowman made of sand appears each year after Thanksgiving near the harbor in Pass Christian.

Minnesota native Mary Bourdin and her two Pass Christian neighbors first built the snowman in 2015. Now, the Harrison County Sand Beach Authority and Pass Christian Fire Department help build the pile and keep the sand put through the holidays. The city calls it “Sandyman.”

Sandyman comes to life with crab shell buttons, pine cone eyes and an oyster shell smile. He appears to be one of the country’s few official sand snowmen. Hermosa Beach, Calif. also holds an annual sand snowman building contest.

Pusharatas

Pusharatas are a classic Coast Christmas dessert, linked with the seafood industry.

The tradition flourished in the early 1900s when Croatian immigrants came to fish and shrimp in Mississippi. The Croatian tradition is made of small, fried balls of dough with almond glaze, chopped fruit and spices. They are served often during the holidays.

The recipe takes work: It requires making the dough, chopping nuts and fruits and making glaze from scratch. The glaze also needs cool, dry winter weather to set correctly.

Harbor Lights Winter Festival

The Harbor Lights Winter Festival in Gulfport is the largest Christmas lights display in Mississippi.

The event started in 2015 when the city raised the idea to the Island View Casino & Resort, which agreed to sponsor it, according to the festival’s website. It began as only a lights display but has expanded over 40 acres in Jones Park with 1.5 million lights, animations, a Ferris wheel and holiday train. It has a Santa’s Village with elves, photos and hot cocoa.

The Lifetime movie “Christmas in Mississippi” also filmed at the festival.

Tickets to a self-guided walking tour through the lights are available online. They cost $20 for general admission, $5 for children between 4 and 12, and are free children 3 or under.

The festival runs through Dec. 31.

Crab trap Christmas tree

The origins of the crab trap Christmas tree are unclear, but Pass Christian has built it for years near the city’s harbor.

The tree is made of stacked red and green crab traps and decorated with nets, buoys, lights and coastal ornaments. The tree rose just before Thanksgiving this year and has stayed lit through the holiday season.

Boat parades

In a nonstop lineup of Christmas events, boat owners across the Coast also take to the water: They deck vessels in giant candy canes, plastic reindeer and colorful lights, then parade through the Mississippi Sound.

Biloxi’s tradition began because the city wanted something unique, according to Sun Herald archives. A group of mariners out for dinner in 1984 at Mary Mahoney’s Old French House restaurant started talking with Mary Mahoney, then president-elect of the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce.

Mahoney wanted a distinct event that was also a chance to use boats in the winter, according to the archives. The event, called Christmas on the Water, began in earnest by 1986 and grew every year until Hurricane Katrina. It has built back since then, and rolled this again this month with fireworks.

Moss Point also hosts a lighted boat parade called Christmas by the River, and Gulfport hosts one called Christmas on the Bayou. Long Beach hosts a parade of boats towed by cars through the city’s streets called the Sea Santa Sail-A-Bration Waterless Boat Parade.

Silent Light Festival

The idea to animate and project Walter Anderson’s art onto walls came in 2021.

The Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs wanted to celebrate the famed Coast artist’s work through a winter festival. It also wanted to work with digital artists, performers, entrepreneurs and musicians, executive director Julian Rankin said.

The museum’s vision became the Silent Light Festival, which is now held each year in early December.

Animating projections of Anderson’s art shows “how light can paint the walls of the museum in nondestructive ways,” Rankin said. The festival also includes a silent disco block party. Lights illuminate the museum and guests can rent headphones to hear the music.

The festival is free, and guests can tour the museum, the illuminated grounds and hear live music. The festival attracts thousands of attendees, according to its website.

Christmas at the casino

December was once a slower month at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino.

So it started decorating: Garlands. Ribbons. Poinsettias. Reindeer. There is now so much to see at the Biloxi landmark that some families come dressed up for photos.

Some also stay for entertainment. This year, the Beau Rivage Theater hosted The Nutcracker, the Broadway show “Elf the Musical” and saxophonist Kenny G’s The Miracles Holiday and Hits Tour.

Mary Perez, Allen Frazier, Wesley Muller and Justin Mitchell contributed reporting.