You wouldn't know it now, but SantaCon, the annual event where hundreds of people dressed as Santa Claus get drunk and crowd New York City bars, streets, and public transit, started as San Francisco performance art to make "whimsical fun of the holiday" in the '90s, creator John Law told The Village Voice. Let Atlas Obscura further explain how the event, which is Saturday, was not always the bane of our existence:
Spontaneous group collaboration was encouraged as Law made speeches from a street lamp and the group posed as Santas on strike. This style of performative activism, however, soon spiraled away from its origins, and has grown to include people who seem less interested in challenging American consumerist culture. [Atlas Obscura]
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