SantaCon 2004 in NYC

From 12/04 NYTimes

Santa broke out the sour mash at 10 a.m. Christmas was coming. Why not have a drink?

He raised his glass to another Santa, who was sucking back some Colt 45.

"Pace yourself," the second Santa said. "I started with beer this year, not Jim Beam like last year."

Santa got drunk yesterday. He cursed. He smoked. He took off his clothes in public. It was Santacon, an annual gathering of nasty Santas, in which some 500 naughty Clauses marched through the city, shouting, drinking, raising gentle mayhem.

Santacon began 10 years ago in San Francisco, where 30 friends, disheartened by the happiness of Christmas, got together in their Santa suits and set out to have some fun. They crashed a dinner dance and stole people's drinks. Went to a strip club. Drank themselves silly. Some made it home. Others slept in the streets.

This year, Santacon was - or will be - celebrated from New York to Tokyo and places in between. Its schedule and history can be found online at www.santarchy.com.

The brains behind Santacon are something of a mystery, its organizers remaining underground. A reporter in the crowd set out yesterday to find the Claus-in-Charge but was told there was no main Claus, only subordinate Clauses.

There are four cardinal rules at Santacon. Don't mess with the police. Don't mess with kids. Don't mess with store security. And don't mess with Santa. These rules were printed on the backs of vomit bags. The bags were passed among the crowd.