Christmas comes to Beijing a little early this year when throngs of Santas weave their way through hutongs and high streets this Saturday at Santacon Beijing.

What is Santacon, you ask? Well, it's only the most awesome event of the season, in my humble opinion.

"What's Santacon?"
Begun in San Francisco as a loosely anarchistic response to the commercialization of Christmas, Santacon (short for Santa Conference) marked the chance for the masses to get dressed up as jolly old St. Nick and indulge in lighthearted mayhem in the form of naughty Christmas carols and drunken revelry throughout the city's landmarks and bars. Shedding most of its underground ideals, the event has evolved into a day-long citywide pub crawl in which tens, hundreds, even thousands of Santas spread joy and mischief, inspiring giggles and smiles in many an onlooker. SantaCon occurs in metropolises worldwide every December, including New York (this year drew over a thousand people), Hong Kong, Bahrain, Seoul and Stockholm. And now we can add Beijing to that list.

"This sounds awesome. What's the info?"
Santacon Beijing takes place this Saturday (Dec. 20), starting early afternoon (my secret line in to Santa's elves tell me between noon and 2pm). In true Santacon style, the final schedule won't be released until the day before the event, which is tomorrow (Friday, Dec. 19). Check the Santacon Beijing Web site on facebook for updates. I will also post here as I find out information.

"I want to come, but I don't have a Santa suit."
Even though Beijing may be be low on religiosity, it's high on holiday decor and attire. I mean, where do you think all that stuff with which you decorate your house back home comes from anyway? Christmas its very self is "made in China." Head over to Liangma Flower Market or any big Western-style store like Walmart or Carrefour to find, at the very least, a Santa hat. Full suits are much more fun, however. A Christmas shop in an annex right next to the toy market behind Hongqiao is selling three or four different Santa suits. Jewish? Agnostic? No worries! Past Santacons have seen Hanukkah Harry, Rudolph, as well as various incarnations of Santa such as Carlos Santana Claus.

Personally, I'm very excited by the prospect of donning my best red and white felt for the occasion. Never has "the more the merrier" been more appropriate, so hope to see you there.

Santacon Beijing occurs Saturday, December 20th. Starting location revealed tomorrow at http://www.tinyurl.com/bjsantacon