Santa Claus is running through town, towns across the world
While no snow was present on the ground throughout many of these major cities, no one was stuck dreaming of a "White Christmas" in these places as the holiday cheer was in full display.
By ZACHARY KEYSERPeople wearing Santa Claus' uniforms run during the annual city race in Skopje(photo credit: REUTERS)
Grandma may have got run over by a reindeer, but if you're reading this now we can be sure you didn't get trampled yourself by one of the thousands of Santas running through each of these major cities over the holiday month of December.Every year around Christmas time, groups of Santas come together and dash across cities throughout the world such as Tokyo, Venice, Budapest, Mexico City, Moscow, Paris, London, Athens, Skopje in North Macedonia - the list could go on and on - to run together and spread the holiday cheer. Caption: Runners dressed in Santa Claus costumes take part in the Santa Claus Run in Budapest.Many of these "Santa Runs" are put on for charity, some are organized by running enthusiasts and some dubbed Santa runs are even just bar crawls in Philadelphia that never materialize. With all participants dubbed in the traditional red and white gear of jolly Saint Nick.Besides the failed pub crawl, thousands of Santas team up annually to participate in these marathon type runs throughout these major cities to not only run for a good cause, but to also bring joy to the world as well as themselves.While no snow was present on the ground throughout many of these major cities, no one was stuck dreaming of a "White Christmas" in these places as the holiday cheer was in full display.In Tokyo, it is known as the annual 'Great Santa Run.' This year the theme was Run and Fun Walk, where thousands of Santas could choose one of two paths, a running course (4.3km) or a walking course (2km). The Santa Run this year was organized to raise money for a children's charity - festivities include live performances, booth activities and of course lots of food. Caption: 2500 Santa Clauses run in Tokyo.Moving over to Eastern Europe, in North Macedonia hundreds of Santas ran through the snowy streets of Skopje. All dressed up in the traditional red and white costumes, bells jingling and laughter tingling the heart strings to wish the world a Happy New Year. The race is aimed to create a festive atmosphere and send message of love and happiness to the city of Skopje.In Central America, Mexico City held their Santa run this year to increase sports participation through Mexico - while making the run fun at the same time. The racers started from Mexico City's Olympic Village and made their way through the normally bustling streets of the Mexican capitol. In Monterrey, there is a similar version of this marathon called 'Run Santa Run.' Caption: Participants dressed as Santa Claus take part in the annual race known as "Run Santa Run" at Fundidora Park in Monterrey.And finally another notable in Moscow, about 500 Santas and his Russian cousin Father Frost ran in the charity race titled the 'Happy Run' to support sick children in need and help these families buy Christmas presents. The cold and damp Moscow weather did nothing to stop these racing Santas from taking on the streets of the Russian capital. For those who wanted to contribute but didn't feel like running, organizer of the event created the "lazy" tier category, where you can donate 300 rubles to watch from the sidelines - despite the probable ego hit, these "lazy" people know they were donating to a good cause. Caption: Participants dressed as Santa Claus take part in a charity run in Moscow.A running Santa creates a hilarious juxtaposition when you truly think about. While we wouldn't picture Santa Claus normally running, in fact we might imagine quite the opposite, just remember for next year that Santa Claus will be travelling across the world and coming to a town near you, and he's bringing his friends and maybe a Russian cousin to help race to spread the holiday cheer.
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