Cool Cajun Christmas Ornaments

The name Cajun is derived from les Acadiens, and usually refers to the French descendants of Canadian exiles who migrated south to the Gulf of Mexico area in the 19th century.  The Cajun culture is delightful, and makes up an important part of Louisiana’s customs and traditions.  The ornaments that you will find at CajunOrnaments.com are a colorful reflection of Cajun life.

In 2002, Jackie & a friend made the shellfish ornaments to raise extra money for Jackie’s son’s 8th grade school trip.  The Cajun Christmas ornaments were so popular that the fishermen/ornaments artists decided to continue making them as a business.  The ornaments are sold online and at Louisiana stores that offer traditional Cajun arts and food.   You will find the ornaments locally in Lafayette at Vermillionville, Prejean’s Restaurant, and Louisiana Hot Stuff.  If you happen to be in Henderson, Louisiana, you’ll see the ornaments at the Cajun Palette Art Gallery.  Another outlet is Crawfish Town USA in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.  Don’t you just love the names? They pretty much guarantee a fun shopping experience. 

The artisans at Cajun Ornaments handcraft the ornaments from crawfish, garfish scales, redfish scales, and crabs, all of which they usually catch themselves, so all of the raw materials are part of Louisiana’s coastal life.    The materials are cleaned and then hand painted and tooled to match the original ornament design.  The owners of CajunOrnaments.com seem to have the design and production down to a joyful science. 

The website CajunOrnaments.com is fun and full to the brim with information about Louisiana and the surrounding area.  While you are shopping for ornaments made of crustacean shells,  you can also check on the latest news about the Gulf oil spill, get the current weather report for the Gulf area, and view several fishing trip videos.  They even tell you where to find the best Cajun seafood and the places you don’t want to miss if you visit Louisiana. If you want to learn to make your own Cajun garlic shrimp, they have a great recipe for you which includes a demonstration video.

By the way, if you look closely at the ornaments, you will see the unique shape of the garfish scales which were used as arrowheads for hundreds of years.  Garfish fossils have been collected in the Gulf area which give evidence that these still-living fish have remained unchanged for millions of years.  How wonderful to be able to enjoy a beautiful ornament resulting from man’s creativity and nature’s tenacious beauty.

Article and images used with permission from CajunOrnaments.com