Thousands head to NYC for SantaCon

“We don’t pee in bushes or anything”. In New York some community groups have established a “Santa Free” zone that urges bars not to serve alcoholic beverages to people participating in order to dissuade incidents of public vomiting and urination in the streets. Organisers say there were no arrests or summonses a year ago. They are suggesting that participants police themselves to cut down on the chances that New Yorkers who are not taking part get hurt.

“We try to transit from what SantaCon was to one thing extra constructive for this yr and sooner or later”, stated Norman Siegel, a civil rights lawyer who’s working with the organizers.

In this Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, photo a sign professing no love for Santacon hangs in the window of Tompkins Square Bagels in NY.

In the previous, organizers have stored the pub crawl route secret till the night time earlier than, unsettling residents and companies in neighborhoods anticipating a deluge of properly-oiled merrymakers.

Still, a dozen city and state officials publicly aired concerns about potential binge drinking and bad behaviour and asked liquor regulators to keep watch.

On Saturday evening, Jasmine Henderson and her friends, wearing Santa hats and red clothes, stood near a Williamsburg beer garden after a few hours of merrymaking and tried to decide where to go next. “SantaCon is a cultural public commentary on the Christmas season, from a critique of consumerism to cultural and charitable giving”, Siegel said in another interview.

Whether you like it or not, SantaCon is coming to town.

To four-time SantaCon-goer Michael Fincher, troubled times were an argument for the celebration, not against it.

“It incorporates family values, if you seek them out”, said Steven Lambert, who said the Manhattan family would skip the bar scene and be home by noon. The holiday cheer has now spread to more than 350 cities and 49 countries, according to the New York Times.

Turning the event around…

In New York Saturday, some Santas were naughty and some Santas were nice.