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EARLY ORIGINS OF THE
SANTA PUB CRAWL
One Christmas, around 300 A.D., in what is now modern day Turkey, Saint Nicholas, the Patron Saint of Young Children, began a tradition of distributing gifts to children in his hometown of Myra. In actual fact, Saint Nic was simply out on his traditional bender, visiting all of his favorite pubs and alehouses but would inadvertently drop gifts items from his large red gift sack soon after dipping into the Christmas cheer.
Circ. 300 A.D. Saint Nic steadying
himself outside an alehouse
The townspeople mistook Saint Nic's unorthodox gift distribution methods as an act of generosity. Even the bartenders would give Saint Nic Happy Hour prices whenever he visited wearing his festive red suit and carrying his big red sack. Every year after the townspeople organized similar events where they would dress as Saint Nic by donning a red robe, red hat along with an imitation white beard and distribute gifts while visiting pubs to get Happy Hour prices.
For many, this is
thought to be the origin of the Santa Pub Crawl
and it's three great traditions
DRESSING
AS SANTA, GIVING TO CHARITY, AND DRINKING FOR
LESS.
Others have suggested
that King Arthur's "Knights of the Round Table"
were in fact the "Santas of the Round Table",
the result of a poor translation from old English.
Full Santa chain mail was believed to be the traditional
armor worn during the holiday seasons.
More recently, archeologists have uncovered the possibility of an even earlier origin to the Santa Pub Crawl. Among the ruins of the great pyramids of Egypt, buried beneath the great Sphinx at Giza is a giant imitation white beard alongside a red hat with a white tassel. These artifacts were apparently sized to fit on the great Sphinx itself during special festive rituals. Also among the ruins were hieroglyphics indicating several bearded individuals going from one fantastic party to the next with the Sphinx/Santa figure leading the way. This finding that is found nowhere else in the ruins baffles scientists and historians, but the Santa Pub Crawl organizers believe they have solved the mystery.
 
The similarity is no coincidence, Saint Nic's spirit
was alive and well in ancient Egypt!
THE
ORIGIN OF THE ST. JOHN'S SANTA PUB-CRAWL
The origin of the
St. John's Santa Pub Crawl is no less a mystery.
In old St. John's it was a yearly event for hundreds
of years up until 1949 when Premier Joseph F.
Smallwood, during confederation negotiations,
exchanged the rights to the Santa Pub Crawl for
Churchill Falls. One blunder followed another.
Most accept that John Cabot was the first to bring
the tradition over to this side of the Atlantic
in 1497. In fact, some historians speculate that
Cabot was on a stop of the world's first Global
Santa Pub-Crawl when he visited Newfoundland.
.
Old St. John's. If you look closely you can see a Santa walking
down Water Street
Whatever its origin, the event in Newfoundland is shrouded in controversy. Rumor has it that a Santa Pub Crawl participant who caught his beard on fire while drinking an Upside-Down Flaming Sambouca started the great fire of 1892. The bank crash of 1932 in Newfoundland is believed to have been caused by speculation that the Santa Crawl would not go ahead that year. Finally, who will forget the now haunting words of anti-confederate Peter Cashin when he stated "I say to you that there is in operation at the present time a conspiracy to put an end to the Santa Pub Crawl in this Country". Indeed, the Santa Pub Crawl was lost to Upper Canada after confederation and some say that the soul of St. John's was lost about the same time. But there is now a new hope.......
Santa or Jedi?
Late in 1997 a few brave souls ventured out in full Santa attire to resurrect a tradition and possibly resurrect a little bit of Newfoundland's soul and spirit. We don't like to use the word hero too often, but these Santa heroes ventured to the Rose and Thistle Pub on Water Street on an early December evening before Christmas with their rosy cheeks and stuffed bellies. They were welcomed in and soon joined by others, the few became many, and soon Downtown St. John's was dotted with Santas.
As one Santa Pub Crawl organizer was sauntering home that night he spotted the real Saint Nic, the genuine article, lying prone in the back of his sleigh with Rudolph carefully driving him back to his second home in Petty Harbour. Santa screamed out in a barely comprehensible but cheery rant..."Merry Christmas to all and god bless the Santa Pub Crawl"
The tradition continues again this year, and on Wednesday, December 22 we shall begin the crawl at 7:00p.m., at the Rose and Thistle Pub on Water Street. Santas shall drink to be merry and drink for charity.
COME OUT. DRESS AS SANTA. GIVE TO CHARITY. DRINK FOR LESS.
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