Santa Rampage 2004 (Austin)

South Street Seaport 2008

Central Park 2010

SantaConNYDec102011

New York, 2011, 20 secs video

SantaCon is an annual mass gathering of people dressed in 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.^[1]

Sometimes known as Naughty Santas, Cheapsuit Santas, Santarchy, Santapalooza, and Santa Rampage, SantaCon incorporates elements of a flash mob in the context of cheerful bawdy and harmless behavior, the singing of naughty Christmas 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 as SantaCon. Influenced by the surrealist movement, Discordianism, and other subversive art currents, the Cacophonists celebrated the Yule season in a distinctly anti-commercial manner, by mixing guerrilla street theatre and pranksterism. SantaCon has since evolved, spawning many different versions and interpretations of the event throughout the world.^[2]

In 2005, a more violent version of the event occurred when on December 18, participants in Auckland, New Zealand, proceeded to start a small riot, with such criminal acts as looting stores, throwing bottles at passing cars, and assaulting 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 of Christmas.^[3]

In popular culture[link]

• The Santa Rampage is mentioned in Chuck Palahniuk's book Fugitives and Refugees: A Walk in Portland, Oregon and in his short story "My Life as a Dog" (featured in the book Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories).

• In Rant 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. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks.

See also[link]

• Running of the Santas

References[link]

Links to SantaCon directories[link]

• Complete list of SantaCon events worldwide
• Santarchy and SantaCon

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Santa Claus parodies

Julia Allison
Allison, photographed in 2006
Born	(1981-02-28) February 28, 1981 (age 31) Wilmette, Illinois
Occupation	Co-host of New York Nonstop Co-creator of NonSociety.com Former columnist for Time Out New York
Notable credit(s)	Star, Time Out New York; CNN, Fox Business, Fox News, MSNBC
Website
http://www.juliaallison.com

Julia Allison (born February 28, 1981) is an American journalist, television commentator, and co-creator of lifecasting portal NonSociety.com. A Georgetown University alumna, Allison is originally from Wilmette, a northern suburb of Chicago.

Upon graduating from college, she moved to New York and began working as a columnist for amNewYork, after which she became editor-at-large for Star magazine. In 2007, she went on to join Time Out New York as a columnist, a position held until Summer 2009. Her freelance writing has featured in numerous magazines including Cosmopolitan and Men's Health.

She has appeared as a guest commentator on television networks such as MSNBC, Fox News, plus Headline News, CNN, and MTV, and co-hosts New York Nonstop lifestyle show TMI Weekly.

As of 2009, her work includes speaking engagements on new media and marketing, as well as assisting various companies as brand spokesperson.

Collegiate life[link]

Allison attended Georgetown University, majoring in political science. While in college, she penned a dating column for the campus newspaper, The Hoya. During her studies she worked as a legislative correspondent for Illinois Republican congressman Mark Kirk in the 107th Congress, later, during the 2004 election, contributing political commentary for Comcast TV.^[1] In 2004, Allison graduated from Georgetown University with a Political Science degree.^[2]

Writing and media appearances[link]

In addition to her 2 year employment (2007–2009) as a Time Out New York columnist, she had a monthly column in COED magazine and has written for a variety of publications, including Cosmopolitan, Maxim, New York, Teen Vogue, Men's Health, Seventeen, and Capitol File. She also did party coverage for the Huffington Post.^[1][3][4]

Allison's public speaking focuses on new media and marketing; engagements include DLD (Digital, Lifestyle, Design) conference in Munich, at MIT and, in fall 2009 at Wharton business school on women entrepreneurs.^[2][5][6][7] Additionally, she works with various brands, including Sony through to early 2010, as a spokesperson.^[8]

As a television pundit, Allison has made occasional appearances on Fox Business's Happy Hour and Fox News' Red Eye show, plus regular appearances as a commentator on Fox News segments, CNN's Reliable Sources, and Headline News' Showbiz Tonight and Glenn Beck news-commentary show.^[9][10] Other appearances include E!, MSNBC's Scarborough Country; Montel Williams, NY Residential, and MTV's It's On with Alexa Chung.^{[11][12][13][14]} Locally, media appearances include New York City's Fox 5, and Sirius radio. She co-hosts NBC New York Nonstop's TMI Weekly, joint owned by Next New Networks.^[4][15][16] Allison was also pictured by renowned photographer Platon on Wired magazine's cover in August, 2008.^[17]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Julia Allison

• Official website
• NonSociety.com Contributor Page