I Dressed Up as Santa at a Festive Rave in Search of the Meaning of Christmas

Can a bunch of strangers, some of them dressed up in costumes as part of this weird night, teach me what Christmas is really about?

by Tom Usher

November 12, 2016, 12:00pm

All photos by Chris Bethell

This article originally appeared on VICE UK

If 2016 were a small child, it would be on Santa's naughty list. The lump of coal it would get instead of a present would crush it. But that doesn't mean we can't celebrate Christmas this year! In times like this, when everyone has weirder views, and traditions like "resisting fascism" head for the door, do we even know what Christmas means?

To find out, I went down to a central London Christmas lights turning-on event, held by Spanish party masters Elrow on Carnaby Street. I needed to find out about the true meaning of the festive season. I also dressed as Santa, because banter.

When I got there at 6PM, I was greeted by what can only really be described as an event that was "popping off". Carnaby Street had been turned into a massive rave, with a DJ booth blasting out pumping tech house and half the crowd looking completely bemused or scared and the other half positively having it large, mate.

Then the countdown for the Christmas lights began – to the sound of the official best Christmas song, Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" – and when it reached zero, confetti blasted out whilst actors dressed in fancy dress (Frida Khalo, Prince, The Beatles on stilts) danced around.

It was, to be scientific about it, absolute madness. Not immediately what comes to mind when you think of Christmas but then hey, what do I know? It's not like I'm bloody Santa Claus or anything. Oh wait, I am. So what does everyone want from me, Santa Claus, for Christmas? What things should I lay under your tree after having stealthily broken into your house, at night, whilst you were sleeping, and eaten all your food?

I spoke to Susan, 51, and her daughter Bella, 23, to find out. "Well actually, my mother had a nasty fall recently and isn't able to walk at the moment. I think what we'd all want as a family is for her to get better and be able to walk."

She looked lovingly at Bella, who silently nodded her head, and smiled.

Right in the feels. As they tottered off to do some shopping and I had to take a short break because I just had something in my eye, I was confronted by a massive chicken with a sign that read "FREE HUGS". This was the Elrow chicken, the Elrow party mascot, whose main job is, it seems, to go round filling up everyone's Instagram feeds with selfies while giving out those hugs free. I asked him, while dancing, how he feels about Christmas?

"Well Christmas is actually a sad time for me because my brother, the turkey, get's a right trouncing." That sounds sad, Elrow chicken. It sounds like you need a hug, from Santa. And hug we did, oh brothers and sisters, hug we did.

I still hadn't quite found out the definitive meaning of the festive spirit at a time of year dominated by one major religion's immaculate conception story. I felt the good vibes, the sense of goodwill and peace to everyone jostling around to the music, but still needed to learn more about what gives the day its weight and relevance to people who may not be devout Christians.

I then bumped into these two quite lively looking fellas, Jacob and Jordan, who were basically like a modern day version of Kevin and Perry Do Ibiza. They were getting into the rave vibe, shouting "OI OI" and doing that fist pump thing you do if you can't dance but dance music is playing anyway. I thought these two would definitely know about the true meaning of Christmas.

"It's about family. I don't get to see my family much, so when it comes to Christmas I like to go see them, and really enjoy spending that time together. They are really important to me," said Jacob, somewhat surprisingly.

"Yeah, but it's also about getting really fucked," said Jordan, somewhat less surprisingly.

And what could I, Santa Claus, get you lads for Christmas this year, I wondered? "Some ketamine and some hookers."

Bloody hell. They danced off, fist pumping as they went. It had almost come to the end of the Elrow party, for it wasn't a full-blown rave. It was a school night, with the event only going on till 9PM – that didn't stop some of the fancy dress actors shouting, "ECSTASY, MAGIC MUSHROOMS" as they handed out free sweets, though.

All told, I'd learnt a lot dressed as Santa and going around asking people about Christmas. From what I heard, people genuinely cared about using Christmas as a means of celebrating the bond of the people in their lives they love. I think it can be unbearably bleak in Britain, and in the world now things aren't looking much better, so having time to settle down with those that are close to you and taking a moment to be grateful for the love of your friends and family is becoming more and more important than ever. Also, getting really fucking smashed.

As I was leaving Carnaby Street I saw one last trio of people that I thought would really know about the true meaning of Christmas: Kiss, on stilts. Hey Kiss on stilts, what's the true meaning of Christmas?