Naughty Santas got in a fight on the streets of NYC this weekend as SantaCon 2013 was winding down. One onlooker happened to catch video footage of the Christmas rumble.
SantaCon is a worldwide event where people dressed up as Santa Claus fill cities to celebrate Christmas. There’s just one problem. These Santas usually end up on the naughty list, not the nice list. As the event has grown in recent years, some of the most raucous crowds have gathered in NYC.
Thousands of people participate in this “jolly” event. And each year it seems that something more wild than the last happens.
“It was just terrible; they were throwing up in the streets. It was really just disgusting. I just put a red suit on and have a good time,” Sandy Bachom, who participated in the event last year, told CNN affiliate WABC .
While Santa Claus is supposed to be a symbol of joy and giving , he is quickly becoming a nuisance to the people of New York City.
“I think New Yorkers generally are extremely tolerant of visitors, but when they come in such droves, and then combine that with public intoxication, it has a negative impact in our neighborhoods,” state Sen. Brad Hoylman said to WABC.
Police were informed around 8:20 p.m. Saturday night of the naughty Santa Christmas rumble. The Santa Claus battle featured 8 different bad Santas fighting on the snow-covered corner of 17th Street and Third Avenue in Manhattan’s Gramercy neighborhood. Currently, no one has been arrested but police are still looking into it.
SantaCon is looking to change the growing perception of the event being an excuse to get drunk and fight.
“SantaCon has had growing pains,” the event’s organizers said in a news release on the NYC SantaCon website. “With a little elbow-grease from the elves, a little patience from the community, and just a pinch of holiday magic, SantaCon can spread joy.”
Interested in joining the Christmas festivities? Then throw on your Santa suit and check out http://santacon.info/ to see if there’s an event near you.
But be careful, participation in this event might put you on Santa’s naughty list.