SantaCon New York City returned to life this year, with thousands taking part in drunken revelry after last year’s cancellation due to pandemic.
On Saturday, a multitude of Santas, Grinches and Reindeers gathered at the Big Apple to celebrate Christmas. They marched through bars and crawled through pubs.
There are concerns the fun might be used as an opportunity to promote the COVID-19 Omicron variant. It has been seen in nearly half the states of the United States, including New York.
New York City’s Santa convention was cancelled last year and thousands turned out to the festivities on Saturday.
The event took place despite worries that it might serve as a super-spreader for COVID-19
The Big Apple hosts an annual pub crawl that sees thousands of Santas, and other Christmas characters taking to the streets.
It often includes festive spirits, extravagant clothing and some drunken mayhem.
SantaCon was a SantaCon party, and several Grinches were seen in Manhattan sipping bottles of alcohol.
SantaCon attendees wear costumes inspired by Father Christmas while they move from one bar to another.
Sometimes the clothes reveal too much. Carl Plandford presented his Santa version near Times Square
Participants can dress up as Santa Clauses and various Christmas characters.
Annual pub crawls often result in revelers being flagged by police for littering and public urination.
New York authorities managed to control the chaos after mass transit bans alcohol transport. They also increased police presence, while being informed of the Broadway-based pub crawl.
SantaCon NYC’s Facebook group reminded attendees to be calm and not engage in any drunken violence.
Don’t ruin a great time! Don’t be afraid to help where it is possible. The organization posted on its group page that it was a “merry day” and wished to continue the tradition.
Police were also present throughout the city to distribute tickets and end the fights among Santas.
Joseph McGrann of the MTA Police stated to ABC 7 that Metro-North stations and trains will continue their alcohol ban until noon on Sunday.
McGrann stated that there may have been riders who had not seen the train since the outbreak of the pandemic.
“It’s important that we make sure everyone has a pleasant holiday by making it easy and safe to travel.
New York was the first city to confirm the Omicron variant after a Minnesotan man who attended the Anime NYC convention in November 22, tested positive.
After Arizona, Iowa and Michigan joined the growing number of states that have adopted Omicron COVID-19, 25 more are now available.
Omicron is the dominant headline, but the Delta variant continues to spread across the country, with a 30% increase in daily new cases and a 20% increase in deaths in the last two weeks.