BATON ROUGE - A Louisiana take on a classic Christmas story was designated as the official children's Christmas book of the state.

During the summer legislative session, state lawmakers signed Act 172 into law, establishing the "Cajun Night Before Christmas" as the official state children's Christmas book.

The holidays have a way of making people smile, like Kay Bailey, who is from White Castle, and she cherishes time with family.

"We went to my family's home whenever we had Christmas growing up," Bailey said. "That was so special. I wish I could go just one more time."

Anyone who reads the "Cajun Night Before Christmas" might just feel like they're from Cajun country. The book is written in an old French dialect with English words condensed with apostrophes, changing "And all through the house" to "An' all t'ru de house".

Although without a Cajun accent, reading it aloud could be challenging. Chloe Kelly, a student at Louisiana State University, recalls the book being a part of her Christmas traditions throughout her childhood.

"In elementary school, our teacher would sit us down on the little reading mats, and they would read us this book, and they could never do the accent because we were from north Louisiana, but they always tried," Kelly said.

Speaking to Mona Grandin, it's obvious she's from southern Louisiana. The Pierre Part native has a recognizable accent and reads the children's book with ease. During the holiday season, she traditionally reads the book to her grandsons, who also love the story.

"We're in the pirogue all the time," Grandin said. "We go in the boat, and we see alligators all the time. That's what they can relate to."