Ho, ho, holy...

This one's for the folks back home:

A group called the Portland Cacophony Society holds what's known as Santacon each year in town. This year, there are two Santacons. One was held Dec. 9, which I missed (see the YouTube video here):



The other will be Dec. 23, and I hope to at least witness it. Similar events are held elsewhere in the nation and the world, including this one in what looks to be San Francisco. It's like the running of the bulls in Pamplona, but instead of raging animals you have rampaging Santas.

To quote the Cacophony Society's instructions: "You know the drill by now. Wear a Santa suit. Dress warm, bring CASH for drinks and tips. Bring santa-goodies and wrapped gifts to give to kids. Bring adult goodies to share with other Santi. Santa rides the MAX."

More specifically, here is what they call proper Santa etiquette. My favorite part is the suggested response to questions from the public or the police:

Who's in charge? Santa.
Who are you with? Santa.
What organization are you with? Santa.
Who organized this? Santa.
Who's that woman? Santa.
Who's that guy? Santa.
How did you get here? A sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

All in all, this is one of those wonderful little oddities that make Portland such a great city. In my book, it even ranks ahead of the public pillow fights downtown in Pioneer Courthouse Square: