Thousands of Christmas fans flocked to the streets of New York City as the booze-soaked SantaCon tour returned to the Big Apple this weekend.
Revelers dressed as St. Nick, the Grinch, elves and various other Christmas characters took to the streets and navigated Manhattan as the New York Police Department braved the anarchy.
The festivities began at 10 a.m. Saturday morning in bars and clubs in Midtown Manhattan and are expected to end at 8 p.m. in the East Village.
Ahead of the expected explosion, the New York City Transit Police announced a citywide ban on alcohol on subway tracks and trains, seeking to restrict those who may have consumed too many spiced eggnogs.
Passengers traveling from New Jersey and the New York suburbs to Manhattan are prohibited from drinking alcohol from 4 a.m. Saturday until noon Saturday.
Thousands of Christmas fans flocked to the streets of New York City Saturday morning as the booze-soaked SantaCon tour returned to the Big Apple this weekend
A naked cowboy partygoer will definitely feel the chill as he poses with a Santa Claus in Times Square
A group of female Santas brave the cold as they hit the streets to celebrate in New York
A group of formally dressed women performed at the legendary bar Coyote Ugly in Manhattan's East Village
Revelers dressed as St. Nick, the Grinch, elves and various other Christmas characters took to the streets
Participants navigated Manhattan as the New York Police Department braved anarchy
The festivities began at 10 a.m. Saturday morning and began in bars and clubs in Midtown Manhattan
The event is expected to end at 8 p.m. in the East Village
“Ensuring everyone has access to safe and orderly travel is a top priority,” MTA Police Chief John Mueller said in a statement earlier this week.
“The holiday season is a wonderful time of year and we want everyone to get to their destination smoothly and on time while enjoying the festivities.”
SantaCon began in San Francisco in 1994 and has since expanded to nearly 300 locations, but the NYC event was the largest.
Organizers described the event as “a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus conference held once a year to spread absurd joy.”
Attendees are encouraged to donate $15 to charities toward admission to dozens of participating venues.
Hours after the event began this year, organizers posted what they called “Six F's” on X, formerly Twitter, to remind partygoers to follow the rules and stay sober.
“Don’t f**k with kids, NYPD, bar staff, yourself, charities or NYC,” organizers wrote in the social media post.
“The sleigh is flying fast now.” To get the best results at SantaCon NYC, don't forget the 6 F's! Know her, live her, love her,” they wrote.
A group photo taken at the intersection of 39th St and Broadway was posted to social media around noon as Santas celebrated across the city.
A Santa Claus has forgotten his sleigh and is posing on a motorcycle in Manhattan at the annual NYC SantaCon
A group of festive friends are ready to party at the Coyote Ugly Bar in Manhattan
Ahead of the expected explosion, the New York City Transit Police announced a citywide ban on alcohol on subway tracks and trains, seeking to restrict those who may have consumed too many spiced eggnogs
Passengers traveling from New Jersey and the New York suburbs to Manhattan are prohibited from drinking alcohol from 4 a.m. Saturday until noon Saturday
SantaCon began in San Francisco in 1994 and has since expanded to nearly 300 locations, but the NYC event was the largest
Organizers described the event as “a charitable, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus conference held once a year to spread absurd joy.”
Attendees are encouraged to donate $15 to charities toward admission to dozens of participating venues
Hours after the event began this year, organizers posted what they called “Six F's” on X, formerly Twitter, to remind partygoers to follow the rules and stay sober
“Don’t f**k with kids, NYPD, bar staff, yourself, charities or NYC,” organizers wrote in the social media post
A group photo taken at the intersection of 39th St and Broadway was posted to social media around noon as Santas celebrated across the city
For locals, the rise in public drunkenness isn't particularly encouraging, especially after a reveler reportedly peed in front of a child in the middle of a McDonald's in 2019.
In 2018, a wild brawl between a group of Santa Clauses was caught on camera, while in 2016, a Santa Claus rode illegally in the back of a fire truck and took the lead the person who shared the image To sum up the feelings of many in New York: “Finish this day.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joked that a GrinchCon could be organized to combat the polarizing event. She suggested setting up a “tea and coffee crawl” to spread “peace and calm.”
In 2013, New York City Police Lt. John Cocchi, in an open letter to New York City bars, urged businesses to boycott the event, which featured “thousands of drunken partygoers running through the streets, urinating, littering, vomiting and vandalizing.” “.
A long list of incidents that landed attendees on the indecent list led Curbed Magazine to praise Santa Con's cancellation as “a single bright spot” worth celebrating than the coronavirus pandemic brought the US economy to a standstill in 2020.
For locals, the rise in public drunkenness isn't particularly encouraging, especially after a reveler reportedly peed in front of a child in the middle of a McDonald's in 2019
In 2018, a wild brawl between a group of Santas was caught on camera, while in 2016, a Santa illegally rode on the back of a fire truck
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joked that a GrinchCon could be organized to combat the polarizing event
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggested setting up a “tea and coffee tour” to spread “peace and calm.”
In 2013, New York Police Lt. John Cocchi called on businesses to boycott the event in an open letter to New York bars
The event was described as “thousands of drunken partygoers roaming the streets, urinating, littering, vomiting and causing vandalism.”
A long list of incidents that landed attendees on the indecent list led Curbed Magazine to praise Santa Con's cancellation as “a single bright spot” worth celebrating than the coronavirus pandemic brought the US economy to a standstill in 2020
For those who want to understand why a day of fun and alcohol can anger New Yorkers, a scathing 2013 New York Times op-ed attempts to sum it up.
Comparing the day to “rotten eggnog,” the “vile” event was accused of losing its counterculture roots and concluded that “attending the Big Apple version of SantaCon is about as anti- Establishment is like going to Disney World.”
Ironically, the parade's reputation as a disgusting, marketing-fueled drinking campaign is a far cry from its roots.
The Big Apple hasn't always been the main player, as the history of SantaCon – which now covers over 300 cities and 44 countries – dates back to 1970s Scandinavia.
The first congress, which began as a performance art protest in Denmark, was a political demonstration, in contrast to the event's current insistence on being “apolitical.”
In 1974, the Danish art collective “Solvognen” decided to protest perceived inequalities in society in a bizarre way. Seventy-five members dressed up as Santa Claus and pretended to slowly understand more about the consumerism and greed that ruins the holiday, Vox reports.
For those who want to understand why a day of fun and alcohol can anger New Yorkers, a scathing 2013 New York Times op-ed attempts to sum it up
The 2013 article compared the day to “tainted eggnog”, criticizing the “vile” event for losing its counterculture roots
The New York Times editorial said, “Attending the Big Apple version of SantaCon is about as anti-establishment as a trip to Disney World.”
The parade's reputation as an obnoxious, marketing-laden drinking campaign is a far cry from its roots
The Big Apple hasn't always been the main player, as the history of SantaCon – which now covers over 300 cities and 44 countries – dates back to 1970s Scandinavia
The first congress, which began as a performance art protest in Denmark, was a political demonstration, in contrast to the event's current insistence on being “apolitical.”
In 1974, the Danish art collective Solvognen decided to bizarrely protest against perceived inequalities in society by having 75 members dress up as Santa Claus
Santas reportedly caused chaos by sneaking into parties and disrupting holiday parties
On the first day, protests were fun and casual, including Santa Clauses being serenaded by angels on the streets of Copenhagen.
At the end of their days of performance art work, Solvognes had gone into a frenzy, destroying buildings with pickaxes while Santas handed out free gifts.
Scenes depicting the arrest of anarchist Santas became iconic in Denmark, and the “Santa Claus Army” (Julemandshæren) was even officially accepted into the Danish cultural canon, marking it as a milestone in the country’s cultural history.
A Mother Jones article about the phenomenon in 1977 attracted attention abroad, and a secret society in San Francisco known as the Cacophony Society eventually published its own version in 1994.
Santas reportedly caused chaos by sneaking into parties and disrupting holiday parties, which one member described in 2014 as “a small mockery of a bull festival that was proven to be based on an unholy combination of religious hypocrisy and commercial greed.”
Although the campaign was originally intended as a one-off, it quickly escalated and was sometimes referred to as a “santarchy.”
On the first day, protests were fun and casual, including Santa Clauses being serenaded by angels on the streets of Copenhagen.
At the end of their days of performance art work, Solvognes had gone into a frenzy, destroying buildings with pickaxes while Santas handed out free gifts
Scenes of anarchist Santas being arrested became iconic in Denmark, and the “Santa Claus Army” (Julemandshæren) was even officially accepted into the Danish cultural canon
A Mother Jones article about the phenomenon in 1977 attracted attention abroad, and a secret society in San Francisco known as the Cacophony Society eventually published its own version in 1994
Santas reportedly caused chaos by sneaking into parties and disrupting holiday parties
One member described it as “a petty mockery of a Bull holiday that was demonstrably based on an unholy alliance of religious hypocrisy and commercial greed.”
Although the campaign was originally intended as a one-off, it quickly escalated and was sometimes referred to as a “santarchy.”
By 1966, Oregon joined in on the fun thanks to its own Cacophony Society, before SantaCon parades went nearly nationwide in 2000 as they became synonymous with bar crawls.
Alcohol also dominates the pub crawl, in which participants go from bar to bar drinking as much as they can, rivaling Halloween and St. Paddy's Day as the heaviest drinking days on the calendar.
SantaCon, typically attended by 20- to 30-year-olds, is ostensibly a charity event as organizers in New York ask attendees to donate $15 to attend, although this does not appear to be mandatory appears.
New York City serves as the global center of party life on this day, functioning similarly to the city's massive Thanksgiving and St. Paddy's Day parades, while other metropolises host their own smaller jamborees.
By 1966, Oregon joined in on the fun thanks to its own Cacophony Society, before SantaCon parades went nearly nationwide in 2000 as they became synonymous with bar crawls
Alcohol also dominates the pub crawl, in which participants go from bar to bar and drink as much as they can
The event rivals Halloween and St. Paddy's Day as the heaviest drinking days on the calendar
SantaCon, typically attended by 20- to 30-year-olds, is ostensibly a charity event as organizers in New York ask attendees to donate $15 to attend, although this does not appear to be mandatory appears
New York City acts as the global center for partying on this day, functioning similarly to the city's massive Thanksgiving and St. Paddy's Day parades, while other metropolises host their own smaller jamborees
Whether it has actually changed in the last two years may depend on who you ask, but organizers insisted that despite its flaws, Santa Con will be conducted in the right spirit
This has also drawn the ire of both New Yorkers and law enforcement, with one of the loudest events in recent memory occurring in 2015 when five Santa Clauses were arrested.
Organizers have tried to change the event, insisting it has “changed significantly for the better” a year after it was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Whether it has actually changed in the last two years may depend on who you ask, but organizers insisted that despite its flaws, Santa Con will be conducted in the right spirit.
“We agree that there is no excuse for inappropriate behavior, including public drunkenness, urination or rude behavior,” SantaCon said.
“Not only is this prohibited by the event’s established rules, but it is also actively discouraged by the Santa Claus crowd themselves, most of whom are responsible, creative, and community-minded New Yorkers.
“NYC Santa Claus recognizes that he has a responsibility to New York City and its citizens.”