Thousands of people gathered on Cocoa Beach in Florida for the annual "Surfing Santa" festival to raise money for charity.
While dozens of adults in wetsuits headed out to sea, others lounged on the beach under cloudy skies, sipping cocktails at the event in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on the morning of December 24.
Santa Claus surfs on a beach in Florida, USA, December 24. Video: X/Mike DeForset
Santas dressed in colorful costumes and children dressed as elves or reindeer attended the annual festival to raise funds for Grind for Life, a charity that helps cancer patients undergoing treatment and runs a local surfing museum.
Volunteers sold T-shirts and raffle tickets in a tent to raise funds. There was also a costume contest and a Hawaiian dance performance.
George Trosset, a local resident, came up with the idea of "Surfing Santa" in 2009, after seeing a TV commercial showing people dressed as Santa, taking their surfboards out of their cars and into the ocean to surf.
He went to a thrift store, bought a red coat, modified it to look like Santa Claus’s, and went surfing. Trosset’s son dressed as an elf joined him, while his three-year-old grandson watched from the shore. A local photographer took a picture and published it in the newspaper.
"The second year, we had 19 Santas. The third year, we had 80. Now look at them, there are thousands," said Trosset, 70. "It's been really fun to see what a silly little thing I did grow into."
A Santa Claus surfs at Cocoa Beach on December 24. Photo: X/Richard P Gallagher
This was the second time Teresa Dell'Oglio-Garrett, an Italian, had attended the festival to enjoy the "fun and friendly atmosphere". She recalled her first time attending in 2017 and there were only a few people, unlike the crowded scene of this year's event.
Trosset still couldn’t understand how his prank with his son and grandson had turned into a festival. When hundreds of people started joining in, he thought maybe something had to be done, and the fundraiser was born.
"People tell me we touch millions of people every year when we watch Santa surf the airwaves," he said. "If that's true, that means we bring millions of smiles every year. I'm deeply touched."
Hong Hanh (According to AFP )
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