Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEW YORK (AP) - Santa Claus came to town despite snow and widespread criticism of the costumed pub crawl known as SantaCon.
New York City's SantaCon started Saturday morning in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village. Thousands of red-suited revelers then spread out through the city's bars and snowy streets.
This year's SantaCon takes place in New York amid criticism that the event has become too rowdy. SantaCon participants were told to make charitable donations and encouraged to bring small gifts to bestow on one another and passers-by.
Organizers say similar events were set for more than 100 other cities worldwide on Saturday, including San Francisco; Portland, Ore., Newport Beach, Calif. and Vancouver, British Columbia.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
