SantaCon
SantaCon is an annual pub crawl[1][2][3] in which people dressed in Santa Claus costumes or as other Christmas characters parade in hundreds of cities around the world.
[8] Staged as street theater by a local prankster group, the Cacophony Society[8] — which had grown out of the earlier Suicide Club[9] — the aim was to make fun of Christmas and the rampant consumerism associated with the holiday.
[10][11] SantaCon came to Portland in 1996, to Seattle in 1997, and to Los Angeles and New York in 1998, when a "young San Franciscan strapped on a fake white beard, donned a $12 red suit, and led 200 Santas as they went caroling up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan," to the delight of passersby.
[15] A December 2015 article on Vox described SantaCon as "a roving, loosely organized event where people dress like Santa Claus, elves, or other holiday figures and parade around a city in varying states of sobriety.
"[20] The New York Daily News reported in 2017 that the event "endures an annual backlash from New Yorkers repulsed by the sight of Santas vomiting or urinating in the street in years past.
[7][12][20][30][31] But community opposition has increased, as SantaCon evolved into what The Village Voice described as "a day-long spectacle of public inebriation somewhere between a low-rent Mardi Gras and a drunken fraternity party.
"[3]An op-ed in The New York Times on the eve of the 2013 SantaCon criticized it for "sexism, drunkenness, xenophobia, homophobia and enough incidents of public vomiting and urination to fill an infinite dunk tank," and said it "contributes absolutely zero value – cultural, artistic, aesthetic, diversionary, culinary or political – to its host neighborhood.
"[32] An NYPD lieutenant in Hell's Kitchen sent an open letter to local taverns in 2013 which said, "Having thousands of intoxicated partygoers roam the streets urinating, littering, vomiting and vandalizing will not be tolerated in our neighborhood."
On the Lower East Side of Manhattan, residents posted notices telling SantaCon participants to stay away, saying "Alcohol Soaked Father Christmas-themed flash mob not welcome here.
[34][35] During the 2013 SantaCon in New York City, the Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad and New Jersey Transit banned alcohol consumption on their trains for 24 hours.
[7] The 2013 SantaCon was more subdued than previous ones not only due to the alcohol ban on trains, but also an increased police presence, poor weather, and advance coordination with authorities.
Complaints of crowds and public drunkenness continued,[36] and "the Santas would more or less take over all of the East Village – visiting bars that had no affiliation with SantaCon whatsoever, angering patrons of those establishments who had no interest in being caught up in the debauchery.
[38] After the withdrawal from Bushwick, and opposition from the community board representing the Lower East Side[39] and Hell's Kitchen,[38] the 2014 event was rescheduled for 13 December for 32 bars in Midtown Manhattan.
The New York Daily News reported that the pub crawl left "a trail of vomit and destruction throughout the East Village" and that one bar was robbed and vandalized by SantaCon participants.
[48] A citizens campaign was launched to ban future SantaCons in the city, and plans for "Santa party boats" were disapproved after three New York legislators raised concerns with the marina operator.
"[56] Unlike the infamous New York SantaCon, this smaller event has avoided negative press, has been welcomed by the local community, and has even included a "family friendly" first stop on the route where children can meet a costumed Krampus.
