Christmas Spirit

[Daisyspop]

Well I knew Christmas would be different but -


Santas Fight And Steal In The Streets

18/12/2005NewstalkZB

Too much Christmas spirit is being blamed for ugly scenes in central Auckland, where a group of drunks dressed as Santa has been on the rampage.

Santas were seen urinating in the street, throwing bottles, fighting and stealing from shops last night.

About 40 men in red Santa suits were seen in several parts of the city centre, all in an extremely intoxicated state.

There were complaints of tagging and theft. Some Santas attacked a giant Christmas tree at the SkyCity casino.

At one point the violence got out of hand, with rocks being thrown at buses, smashing windows.

Police came close to moving in on the group several times but say the Santas managed to get away on foot.

Just three arrests were made.

[SteveyC]

Although fairly aweful, I'd rather hear stories of some drunkards starting brawls and kicking off on a night out on the town, than group of teenagers video each other, kicking a passer-by to death, on there mobile phones. A 14 year old girl was seen going up to the victim before the attack saying 'smile for the camera'.

This world is crazy, NZ seems the least crazy place in the westernised world right now and I want to be there before I'm directly affected by the immoral society I currently live in. :( :(

[MotherBear]

What a strange phenomenon! Surely it was some kind of organised gathering that went wrong? The odds of having 40 Santas running amok in the city at the same time would be very low. Perhaps it was the aftermath of the official Santa Christmas Party, but I wonder why it turned so aggressive? I thought Santas were supposed to be jolly, not delinquent.

[Daisyspop]

Not very nice I'm sure but I must admit that my first reaction was amusement as I imagined the sight.
On the nicer side the towns seem to have their own local Sants, official or unofficial, to hand out lollies and talk to kiddies in the street.

[MotherBear]

It's spreading.

Bad Santas wreak havoc worldwide
Tuesday 20th December 2005



BERLIN (Reuters) - Drunken Santas on a rampage in New Zealand, armed German robbers in Santa disguises, a British St. Nick wanted for flashing, and a Swedish vandal in a Santa outfit are giving the big man in red a bad name this year.Reports of "Bad Santas" breaking the law or otherwise wreaking havoc have been circulating around the world.

Armed with a gun, a man in a Santa outfit held up a furniture store in the German town of Ludwigshafen on Saturday and forced two cashiers to open the safe. He filled his sack with cash, locked the two women in the safe and escaped.

He is still on the loose, but police in Tuebingen were able to nab a bank robber armed with a machine gun in a Santa costume with the aid of an infrared camera and helicopter. They found him hiding in a ditch in a nearby forest.

"The machine gun was fake," a police spokesman said. Dressed in a Santa cap, beard and wearing sun glasses, he was wanted for stealing 500,000 euros in four separate bank robberies.

One Santa was stopped by police for driving 150 kph (90 mph) on a northern German motorway, 50 kph over the speed limit.  "He said he was in a rush because he still had packages to deliver," said a spokesman for the police. They gave Santa a fine and took away his licence.

Last week an inebriated half-naked Santa disrupted a Christmas market in Dabringhausen before police intervened.

In New York, one man fed up with the growing commercial aspect of Christmas set up a ghoulish life-sized Santa holding a severed doll's head in front of his house, local media said.

Those incidents paled in comparison to what happened in Auckland on Saturday when 40 drunken Santas rampaged through the city centre, stealing from stores and assaulting security guards in protest against Christmas becoming too commercial.

In Britain, police said they were looking for a Santa acting suspiciously -- a flasher who exposed himself to women. Officers in Swanage on the south coast said the flasher had struck a number of times since December 6, and a week later exposed himself whilst wearing a Santa Claus outfit.

A British agency has issued a code of conduct to root out substandard Santas. "Santa is a magical and cuddly man, not a fat, smelly slob," said James Lovell of the Ministry of Fun agency in London. "He must not smell of drink or body odour."

But a foul-mouthed Santa in London nevertheless made children cry by swearing at them recently, local media reported.

In Sweden, one Santa set on fire a 13-metre-high straw ram built by the town fathers by shooting burning arrows into it.

Last Christmas, a shopping centre in South Wales installed a webcam dubbed "Santacam" in his grotto to overcome parents' concerns after several high-profile paedophile cases in Britain.

[selchie]

They've just gotta spread that Yultide cheer! Next thing you know, the authorities will ban Santa costumes because you know it's the clothes that cause so much trouble.

[MotherBear]

Police expect drunken holiday season
21.12.05 1.00pm



Police are gearing up for an increase in drunken trouble on Christmas Day and New Year's Day this year because they both fall on the weekend. They said more staff had been rostered on duty in the three police communications centres in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch because they expected more trouble than last year.

National communications centre manager, Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald, said Christmas and New Year were traditionally very busy. Last year between December 24 and January 5, communications centres received almost 28,000 emergency calls, peaking at 2643 calls on January 1. They also received more than 50,000 non-emergency calls, peaking at 3293 calls on December 31.

"Based on last year's numbers, we've rostered on additional staff to contend with the increased call volumes," Mr Fitzgerald said. He said with New Year's Eve falling on a Saturday this year it was likely to be even busier. "We're anticipating that given it's a weekend night, people will psychologically be in a more celebratory frame of mind. The results of this have consequences that invariably involve some sort of police intervention," he said.

He said alcohol, dangerous driving and unnecessary personal risk taking, were all likely to add to the stress. Northern Communications centre manager in Auckland, Inspector Karen Wilson, said the holiday period could be particularly intense for families.

"The majority of calls we deal with over this time are generally domestic related or disorderly conduct. In almost all instances they are fuelled by alcohol and drugs," she said. "Things can get out of hand very quickly. People can stop the situation from escalating by taking a bit of time out, not drinking too much, and not overspending.

"You don't need to resort to violence to sort out your issues." However, she said anyone fearing for themselves or their children's safety should call 111 immediately.

Inspector Gary Allcock, the Central Communications centre manager in Wellington, said domestic violence and traffic incidents, such as dangerous and inconsiderate driving, and emergencies in the water, dominated the festive season last year.

Mr Fitzgerald said people should only call 111 for immediate help with a life-threatening or serious emergency, serious risk to life or property, crimes where the criminal may still be there, or a major public inconvenience such as a blocked state highway.

[Daisyspop]

Ah but Santa lives - I understand he has been paying thirty pound parking fines - in Birmingham I seem to recall. Anyway, the old chap is appearing daily on the main street in Pukekohe, handing out lollies to the kiddies - lovely.

[MotherBear]

Harking back to 2 Christmases ago, the return of the blottoed Santas.

Drunk Santas storm cinema, leave children confused
1:05PM Monday December 24, 2007

Swearing Santas, who had drunk a sleighful, have upset children with their presence at a Hoyts movie theatre.

Police believe the Santas were a group of university students dressed in Santa suits who ran amok for 20 seconds through Hoyts Cinema complex in the South Island city of Christchurch on Saturday, manager Derek Rive said.

A drunken mob of rude oafs swarmed into the Hoyts Cinema on Moorhouse Avenue around 4pm on Saturday, wreaking havoc.

Kate Gorman, 35, told the Christchurch Press she was waiting to watch Enchanted with her two children when they arrived.

"At least 50 drunk idiots dressed up like Santa come in through the main door. They were kicking things over, ripping down posters and smashing everything in sight. They were shouting `Ho, f.... Ho'."

Ms Gorman said her children aged six and seven were not sure how to interpret the event.

"They asked me, 'Are they Santa's helpers gone crazy?' and I said `No, they are just idiots'."

How often do a bunch of Santas just go and wreak havoc?" Rive said. "It was a random act of stupidity" that upset moviegoers.

The Santas finished their naughtiness binge by setting off a fire alarm before escaping.

- NZPA

From here .

[KiwiHopeful]

My son and I actually saw about 20 or so kids dressed in Santa outfits hanging out at the skatepark right down the road from the Hoyt's. My question is, how did no one else notice this? How do 50 drunken Santas just disappear on the busiest street in Chch? For all the CCTV's that are supposedly everywhere in this city, no one is interested in finding out who these punks are?