SantaCon
Encyclopedia
SantaCon is a mass gathering
Mass gathering
Mass gatherings are events attended by a sufficient number of people to strain the planning and response resources of the host community, state/province/, nation, or region where it is being held...
of people dressed in Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
costumes parading publicly on streets and in bars in cities around the world. The focus is on spontaneity and creativity, while having a good time and spreading cheer and goodwill.
Sometimes known as Naughty Santas, Cheapsuit Santas, Santarchy, Santapalooza, and Santa Rampage, SantaCon incorporates elements of a flash mob
Flash mob
A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression...
in the context of cheerful bawdy and harmless behavior, the singing of naughty Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
carols, and the giving of small gifts to strangers.
In 1994, the Suicide Club in San Francisco staged the first "Santarchy", which was later adopted by the Cacophony Society
Cacophony Society
The Cacophony Society is “a randomly gathered network of free spirits united in the pursuit of experiences beyond the pale of mainstream society.” It was started in 1986 by surviving members of the now defunct Suicide Club of San Francisco....
as SantaCon. Influenced by the surrealist movement, Discordianism
Discordianism
Discordianism is a religion based on the worship of Eris , the Greco-Roman goddess of strife. It was founded circa 1958–1959 after the publication of its holy book the Principia Discordia, written by Malaclypse the Younger and Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst after a series of shared hallucinations at a...
, and other subversive art currents, the Cacophonists celebrated the Yule
Yule
Yule or Yuletide is a winter festival that was initially celebrated by the historical Germanic people as a pagan religious festival, though it was later absorbed into, and equated with, the Christian festival of Christmas. The festival was originally celebrated from late December to early January...
season in a distinctly anti-commercial manner, by mixing guerrilla street theatre
Street theatre
Street theatre is a form of theatrical performance and presentation in outdoor public spaces without a specific paying audience. These spaces can be anywhere, including shopping centres, car parks, recreational reserves and street corners. They are especially seen in outdoor spaces where there are...
and pranksterism. SantaCon has since evolved, spawning many different versions and interpretations of the event throughout the world.
In 2005, a more violent
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
version of the event occurred when on December 18, participants in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, proceeded to start a small riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
, with such criminal acts
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
as looting
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
stores, throwing bottle
Bottle
A bottle is a rigid container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth". By contrast, a jar has a relatively large mouth or opening. Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft...
s at passing car
Čar
Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...
s, and assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
ing security guards. At least two bystanders were lightly injured and three arrests were made. Alex Dyer, spokesman for the group, stated that Santarchy in Auckland was part of a worldwide phenomenon designed to protest against the commercialization
Commercialization
Commercialization is the process or cycle of introducing a new product or production method into the market. The actual launch of a new product is the final stage of new product development, and the one where the most money will have to be spent for advertising, sales promotion, and other marketing...
of Christmas.
In popular culture
- The Santa Rampage is mentioned in Chuck PalahniukChuck PalahniukCharles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk is an American transgressional fiction novelist and freelance journalist. He is best known for the award-winning novel Fight Club, which was later made into a film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter...
's book Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, OregonFugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, OregonFugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon is a travelogue by novelist Chuck Palahniuk.The book alternates between autobiographical chapters, and lists of the author's favorite activities in his home city of Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.Palahniuk guides...
and in his short story "My Life as a Dog" (featured in the book Stranger Than Fiction: True StoriesStranger Than Fiction: True StoriesStranger Than Fiction: True Stories is a non-fiction book by Chuck Palahniuk, published in 2004. It is a collection of essays, stories, and interviews written for various magazines and newspapers. Some of the pieces had also been previously published on the internet...
).
- In RantRant (novel)Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey is a novel by Chuck Palahniuk released on May 1, 2007.Rant is told in the form of an oral biography. When the story begins, the reader discovers that the main character, Buster Landru "Rant" Casey, is already deceased...
by Palahniuk, during the demolition derby type game "Party Crashing", people dress as Santa Claus (amongst other things).
- The Santa Rampage is mentioned (along with other Cacophony society activities) as inspiration by the title character of E. LockhartE. LockhartEmily Jenkins, who also writes under the name E. Lockhart, is a writer of children's picture books, young adult novels, and adult fiction.Her first novel as E...
's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.