This story exposed me to gatherings I’ve never heard of before called SantaCon. Apparently people dressed in Santa suits get together at different cities around the world and go out to bars and get wasted. They sing dirty songs that you can download online, give dirty presents to adults and bill themselves as “a non-denominational, non-commercial, non-political and non-sensical Santa Claus convention that occurs once a year for absolutely no reason.” There are videos of their drunken public gatherings on YouTube along with plenty of pictures on Flickr. It’s like a flash mob of wasted Santas. From what I can find, the last major issue with a SantaCon gathering was in 2008 in Aukland, New Zealand when the naughty santas caused a riot and started robbing stores and assaulting security. Compared to the riot of ’08, this latest SantaCon escapade is relatively minor. A few Santas on the sauce were arrested for wreaking havoc at a mall in Dayton, Ohio.

Nearly a hundred Santa’s drunk at the Dayton mall caused a major disturbance, according to Miami Township police.

“It was right there in the middle of the mall. The kids were scared to death. They’re arresting Santa Claus. That’s what we live for. It’s the Christmas spirit,” said Chris Tussey who quickly recorded an arrest a woman dressed in a Santa suit on his cell phone.

“Cops were everywhere. Santa’s were running everywhere with their hats. It was, yeah, one of the most craziest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Tussey.

Sgt. Paul Nienhaus with Miami Township Police says the Santas were “part of a social group or organization called ‘Santa Con’ that started out as a pub crawl the same evening.”

We found them on the web at www.santacon.info. The group says they have members across the country, even the globe, who organize these pub crawls then go to public places.

According to their site, they give out candy to kids and naughty toys to adults. Then they sing Christmas songs from their song book that is full of naughty lyrics.

“I’m not sure if their goal was to sing Christmas carols or not. They never really got that far. They did make it into the mall and apparently got very noisy, shouting and apparently scared a lot of people there,” said Sgt. Nienhaus.

Mall security wanted them out and off of the private property. Tussey says that is when it got crazy.

“All the Santas are running like every which way. They’re dispersing and people in the mall, you know, they’re getting a little worried because, you know, now cops are filing in from all exits and doors and everywhere.”

The woman caught on Tussey’s cell phone and another woman were both arrested for resisting arrest. Police say the rest of the Santa’s complied and left the mall.

“It was the most craziest thing I’ve seen. The mall was like a stampede. Everyone was exited, you know trying to get out of there,” said Tussey.

[From News10.net via Radar Online]

Here’s what bothers me about these Santacons: “won’t anyone think of the children?” The NYC Santacon has “Don’t f*ck with kids” as one of their main rules, along with “Don’t f*ck with cops, security or Santa.” It’s hardly enough to keep a drunken mob of Santas from confusing any kids who still believe in the old guy. My son is six and is just starting to ask whether Santa is real. I give him a noncommittal answer like “Some people believe in Santa and some people don’t.” What would I tell him if we saw a bunch of crazy Santas at the mall, “Those are just Santa imposters who’ve had too much Peppermint Schnapps?” It sounds like this SantaCon concept, like flash mobs in general, is just about played out. Who I am kidding? It looks like a lot of fun. You know what we need next – BrideCons. Women dressed in their bridal gowns getting drunk together. I would so do that. It would be like a mass bachelorette party after we’re well aware of the reality of marriage.

SantaCon 2008 on the NY Staten Island Ferry

SantaCon photos taken throughout the US used under attribution license thanks to Toast of Life, Orin Zebest, Elly Jonez, Jason Wilson, Misserion and Jesse Millan (header image) on Flickr.