A sea of candy cane crimson filled New York City on SantaCon Saturday as thousands of Santas, elves, grinches and even Krampuses came to Manhattan for a day of booze-soaked debauchery.
The yearly holiday pub crawl from Midtown Manhattan to the East Village kicked off from Times Square at 10 a.m., where live music got the merry throng into the spirit. SantaCon participants also heard a litany of reminders by organizers on how to stay in the good graces of Santa Claus — and the NYPD — before they hit the bar scene.
Fun fact: SantaCon originated in Denmark in the 1970s as a performance art protest against consumerism and greed. During the holiday season, members of the art collective Solvognen, dressed as Santas, embarked on stores in Copenhagen and handed out “free” presents they took from stores. Over the years, of course, it evolved into a far different event in New York, which has become an unofficial day-drinking holiday beloved or detested by New Yorkers, depending on whom you ask.
Lindorra Rivera traveled from New Jersey to join the festivities, hoping to meet new people and have a jolly good time.
“I came with a group of my co-workers because they come every year to SantaCon just to celebrate and have a good time. I love it. It’s a great experience so far,” Rivera declared.
While many view SantaCon NYC as a day filled with drunken debauchery where participants act more naughty than nice, the event actually raises money for charities.
SantaCon NYC touts itself as a “charitable, non-commercial, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy.”
Shiny, one of the event’s coordinators, told amNewYork Metro that SantaCon was about meeting new people who embraced the holiday spirit by wearing Christmas outfits while partying for great causes. Shiny explained that SantaCon NYC raises money for organizations like the Dance Parade New York, Friends of Materials for the Arts, and the Lupus Foundation, among others.
“I’m a big fan of a lot of the charities that we work with, and I got to give input onto who we donate to,” Shiny shared. “So it means a lot that we get to donate to charities. It means something special to New York.”
Brooklynite Philip participated in the Yuletide celebration with a twist for the first time.
“I heard about SantaCon, but I never had a chance to go. So when I had the opportunity this year, I had to take advantage,” Philip told amNewYork Metro. He expected a day filled with a “lot of drinking, trying some good food, and just a whole lot of merriment for a great cause.”
“From what I’ve researched, it looks pretty cool. A lot of great charitable organizations that a lot of people seem to love and care for. So that’s a 10 in my book,” Philip said.
Brooklynite Afeisha and Benjamin, who presented the Bronx, expected to have a lot of fun at their first SantaCon while supporting charity.
“You know, a lot of people out here need help, and it’s important. New York is very expensive, and everybody [has] different reasons why they’re here. So it’s a beneficial [event],” Afeisha said.
