2003-12-14 - 11:13 p.m. - a merry santa rampage

It was quite the party weekend – with all different groups of friends….Fri. night was a surprise 30th birthday party for a close friend who was just flabbergasted! She was actually scared at first when we all shouted, "surprise" and then the tears came. Friends had flown in from San Fran, and sister had driven with her family over 3 hours. It was a lot a fun – especially since it all worked out; her husband had been planning it since August. And this happy couple even had another surprise for us friends – they’re pregnant!!! It’ll be their first, and we’re all so excited. I knew they had been trying so it wasn’t completely out of the blue.

Sat. night was an annual party my friends host where we eat goodies and then sing Christmas carols around their piano. Many of the carols’ lyrics have been modified to fit the almost all lesbian crowd in attendance. It’s amazing how many times the word, "gay" is used in various carols. The lyrics end up being quite hysterical but probably would never be sung in any church setting.

This afternoon/evening’s party was at my best friend, Joe’s house and for me was the most fun – probably because my closest friends were in attendance. The kids made ornaments for the tree and then decorated it. The adults sat around drinking wine and talking before eating some delicious soups, salad, breads and dessert. I found a lot about some international schools for teaching since a woman there had just been overseas for three years teaching in Brazil. I think I might check into it since I’m feeling really burnt out where I am and with the American school system in general and its lack of funding.

But the most interesting part about this weekend was yesterday afternoon where I gallivanted around downtown Portland with a group of at least 60 Santas spreading the Christmas cheer as well as some merriment. I knew about the gathering from an email list I’m on, but I didn’t have a full-fledge Santa suit to wear, and hadn’t had time to search for one or make one. So I put on the Santa hat I had gotten from Chuck Palahniuk at one of his readings this summer – it was really through him that I found out about this whole Santa thing. I also wore a red sweater, black pants and hiking boots (it was pouring rain all day and I didn’t want my feet to get soaked) along with a raincoat. They were gathering at Saturday market at 2 p.m., so I got there a little early and did some shopping. While I was shopping, one of the craft people at a booth commented about my spirited outfit. She said something to the effect of, "you’re certainly dressed in the Christmas spirit". I replied that I was trying to, and she asked me if it was working. I told her a little, but in my heart, I really wasn’t feeling all that Christmasy yesterday. I was a bit stressed about all the shopping I had yet to do as well as getting my tree up and house decorated. Plus it was pouring out and had been all day – not that this should be surprising given that it’s December and I’m in Portland. But the weather just felt exceptionally miserable yesterday. I guess couple that with the fact that my furnace isn’t working and my house hasn’t been heated since Fri. night. (When I called to find out about someone coming out to fix it, I discovered it would cost me double compared to waiting until Mon. Since I wasn’t going to be home much this weekend and my housemate was house sitting someone else, I decided to wait. So here I sit typing this with a hat on, a fleece over my sweater and turtleneck, and fingertip-less mittens. My lap is being kept warm by my sleeping kitten.)

Back to the Santa rampage (also known as Santa Con)….Around 2 p.m. a group of Santas started to gather under a tent, and I went there with the sole purpose of taking some photos. I really didn’t feel like I would fit in since I lacked an "official-looking" Santa suit. But when they made their way up and down the aisles at Saturday market, one of them invited me to join them. I did, and it was the best decision I made all day.

I ended up hanging out two hours with the Santas, and what fun we had. Our first stop was to Magic Gardens, which I didn’t know was a strip club until I was walking through the door. Right in front of me on the stage was a bare naked lady – and I’m not talking the band! I wasn’t really up for drinking yet, and it was getting pretty smoky from the cigarettes, so I opted to wait outside with some other Santas. Outside was a whole other scene – this street person was giving the bouncer of the club a hard time and even tried to pull a phone away from one of the other Santas whom he thought was calling the cops. It was not very Christmas spirity at all. I almost was going to leave right then and there, but soon after the bouncer dragged the street person to the other side of the street, the rest of the Santas were emerging from the bar and ready to head on to the next place. Shortly before this happened, one of the Santas who had to leave early gave me a box of Andes dinner mints to distribute, and I now had a mission to hand every last one of them. This is when the fun began. Other Santas had candy canes as well as small toys to hand out. Some had "Naughty" and "Nice" stickers they were pasting on people. It was merry madness!

We made a quick stop to a coffee shop, and it was pretty funny to see a bunch of Santas invade this place and start ordering coffees and/or other hot beverages. We then headed to Embassy Suites next to "worship the tree", (and befuddle the guests there) before arriving at the Bancorps building to confuse Security. I think we all were a bit confused there since it appeared our fearless leader (even though Santas don’t have a leader – the guy with the megaphone directing all of us to each destination did have some authority) was trying to decide where we’d go next. We walked up to Powells books and took a quick tour through there to the amusement to many. We briefly joined the strikers picketing out front of the bookstore before heading to the Park Blocks. It was there where I departed to finish my errands before my evening party. One funny thing to mention, there was this guy who was a Jesus Santa – he really did look like the white Anglo-Saxon Jesus we see in our Christian churches – he had the long hair and beard and blue eyes. He had a crown of thorns on and a white robe under his Santa suit. He had one of the picketers signs that said, "come to the table"….it was very funny. He was "blessing" everyone as well. Jesus vs. Santa – I know in this capitalistic society, Jesus doesn’t stand a chance. Even though supposedly it’s His birthday, we’ve seem to have lost sight of all that.

But I must say I had a great time handing out those mints – I handed them out to people at the coffee shop, at the hotel, at McDonalds, at Powells, in cars waiting for us cross the street. With each one, I said happy holidays and got a thank you and a smile (sometimes a bit bewildered) in return. Someone in one of the cars asked, "who are you guys?" and I said, "Santa". They asked where we were going, and I said, "I have no idea"….that’s what made it so fun. Distributing the mints reminded me that Christmas is so much more than buying presents and stressing about what needs to get done – it’s about the spirit of giving and making people (young and old) smile. I thank all the other Santas for making me smile yesterday, and for giving me the opportunity to spread the holiday cheer.

I’m already planning on having a "real" Santa suit for next year.

30-something - 2005-03-01
the holding back the the flow of tears - 2005-02-20
song survey - 2005-02-15
song for the day...or perhaps the year... - 2005-01-25
something new - 2005-01-24
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