Carousing around town dressed like Santa and drinking up a storm has become the latest holiday tradition, but not everyone finds it joyous. INSIDE EDITION reports from the streets of New York.
Depending on your point of view, it's either a beloved tradition, or an event to avoid at all costs. It's SantaCon 2013, a bar hopping-adventure in boozing that has now spread to more than 100 cities worldwide.
The action in front of St. Paul's Cathedral in London had packs of Santas taking over entire neighborhoods in England.
The subway in Seoul, South Korea had Santas everywhere.
Here in the United States, thousands of Santas gathered in Boston, Chicago and San Francisco, where one bar even had machine-made snow falling from it's roof.
But nowhere is SantaCon as big or as controversial as in New York City. The reason is the scene in Manhattan early Sunday morning as six men in Santa suits got into a bloody brawl.
It's that kind of misbehavior that had many New Yorkers in an uproar. It was hard to go anywhere without encountering a Santa with a drink in his hand.
Sara Romanoski told INSIDE EDITION. "Just a few minutes ago, there was a guy already vomiting on the side of the street before 1:00 pm."
Watch More Of INSIDE EDITION's Footage of SantaCon in NYC
Sara Romanoski is leading the anti-SantaCon movement. She says revelers have just one thing in mind, "To drink heavily from 10 a.m. until they pretty much pass out in our neighborhood."
The owner of one restaurant declared it a "SantaCon-free zone."
Timothy Spuches, owner of Hotel Chantelle, told INSIDE EDITION, "I think of the children who have to witness Santa Claus being hauled into a squad care or Santa in handcuffs."
But while there were scenes like these, New York City police report it was overall a very calm SantaCon. Not a single arrest was made and just eight citations were written for minor offenses.
