Thousands of people gathered on Cocoa Beach in Florida to participate in the annual "Surfing Santa" festival to raise funds 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 surfing 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.
Local resident George Trosset came up with the idea for "Surfing Santa" in 2009 after seeing a TV commercial showing people dressed as Santa, taking their surfboards out of their cars and going surfing.
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 accompanied 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 that the first time she attended was 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.
"I've been told that we reach millions of people every year by watching Santa Claus surf the media," he said. "If that's true, that means we bring millions of smiles every year. I'm deeply moved."
Hong Hanh (According to AFP )
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