If you know anything about Louisiana culture, you should know that we play just as hard as we work. We celebrate the music, our heritage, flowers and architecture. Here in the Natchitoches area we take much pride in the Christmas Festival, so much so that we extended the event to last from Thanksgiving to the New Year. Over 500,000 people visit this historic community during the month of December. We have festivals to celebrate our Creole, Native American and Louisiana cultures and Natchitoches hosts their very own Mardi Gras celebration.