By Brigit Zent
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Every year, people in towns and cities across the country dress up as Santa (as well as Mrs. Santa, elves, reindeer, Christmas trees, presents and even Jewish Santas) and take part in something called SantaCon. But what IS this strange holiday tradition, how did it begin and how did it come to the SLV? The first SantaCon took place in San Francisco in 1994 and was sponsored by The San Francisco Cacophony Society. The Cacophony Society, according to their website “…is a randomly gathered network of individuals united in the pursuit of experiences beyond the pale of mainstream society through subversion, pranks, art, fringe explorations and meaning-less madness.” The original inspiration came from an earlier SF adventure club called The Suicide Club who’s founder came up with the idea after reading an article about a Danish political who mobbed a Copenhagen Department store just before Christ-mas. However, the first American and all subsequent SantaCons around the world are non-political, purely surreal Santa prank events. The San Francisco SantaCon was originally street theater, but today is mostly just a massive pub crawl. Some Santas still stay true to the original idea of confronting people’s ideas about Christmas, but many do not even know anything about the event beyond dressing as Santa and drinking, while wandering the streets of the city. SantaCons have spread out and can now be found in many towns and cities across the country. Some remain true to the original Cacophony Society idea, some are merely pub crawls and some are engaged in positive community activities such as fundraising for local charities. Brigit Zent, the founder and organizer of the Felton/SLV SantaCon, had attended several San Francisco SantaCons, but by 2012, felt the event had gotten too large and had become little more than an excuse for public intoxication. She decided to bring SantaCon to her home-town of Felton, and in 2013, the first Felton SantaCon was born. Each year on the first Saturday in December, a band of Santas, elves, reindeer, or whatever meet at one of the restaurants in Felton. From there, they proceed to the inter-section of Graham Hill Road and Hwy. 9 and pass out candy canes or other treats to those stopped at the intersection. Sometimes, “naughty” Christmas songs are sung. Horns honk, the Santas wave, and general merriment occurs. Then the jolly crew moves on to one of the other watering holes in town, stopping at merchants along the way to sing more carols. Just getting drunk is discouraged, though drinking does occur. Santa doesn’t let Santa drive home drunk, after all. The night usually ends with a few stalwarts at Monty’s Log Cabin around the outdoor fire. Attendance has varied over the years, and this year saw the largest number of Santas ever, a whopping 17 folks! It’s just Santa’s way of bringing a little cheer and merriment to the first Saturday in December every year! Ho, ho, ho!