Dyandra Morris, Special to wtop.com
WASHINGTON — Have you been naughty or nice? Santa Clause just might be a little bit of both depending on which SantaCon you attend.
SantaCon is an offbeat event where people “dress up like Santa and go cavorting around town for no better reason than that it’s huge fun,” explains SantaCon.com webmaster Santa Ian. “SantaCons are family friendly, some cater to children, some raise money for good causes and some will even let you bring your dog (dressed as Santa of course)!”
This is the 17th year of people around the world dressing up like Mr. and Mrs. Clause. If you’re new to the pre-Christmas tradition, SantaCon.com lists 19 guidelines for those participating in 211 locations in 28 countries.
On Thanksgiving Day, the festivities kick off in Boulder, Colorado and on Dec. 10, the SantaCon party in San Francisco hopes to make the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest gathering of naked Santas.
SantarchyDC is hosting a D.C. event on Dec. 17 for those brave enough to face thousands of Santas in the capital. There will also be a “Naughty Snowball” party Dec. 10 in which the “reindeer strike back.”
SantaCon was founded in 1994 by the San Francisco Cacophony Society. The inspiration was a Danish political mobbing of a Copenhagen Department store before Christmas.
For a little taste of what to expect, check out this video from SantaCon NYC 2010: