A Huge Crowd of Surfing Santas Paddled Out in Florida on Christmas Eve

On the morning of Christmas Eve, surfers flocked to Kelly Slater's hometown of Cocoa Beach, Florida, for the annual Surfing Santas festivities.

Around 10,000 people feeling the Christmas spirit showed up.

They drank bloody Marys, went surfing, and paddled out in honor of musician Jimmy Buffet, who was born on Christmas.

NPI productions posted the clip above yesterday and captioned it:

"Merry Christmas from @surfingsantas of Cocoa Beach!!! Another epic year with about 10,000 of our favorite Santas #SurfingSantas #cocoabeach #Christmas #surfing"

The post above shows some footage of the event, including the crowded beach, fun costumes, and a super-crowded lineup.

According to its website, Surfing Santas began in 2009 but wasn't going full-force until 2013.

Since then, it's "grown to become an annual event that raises tens of thousands of dollars for local charities and draws surfing and Christmas enthusiasts from all over the planet."

According to a press release:

"Surfing Santas has raised more than $300,000 for charity, through donations and sales of official Surfing Santas T-shirts and raffles.

"All proceeds benefit the work of local organizations: Grind for Life an organization that provides financial assistance to cancer patients and their families when traveling long distances to doctors and hospitals, the 24-year-old Florida Surf Museum which is helping to preserve Florida’s unique surfing history, and several local school sports teams."

Buffett's passing on September 1, 2023 rocked the surf world. Kelly Slater, Nic von Rupp, and Nathan Florence and Koa Rothman, were among some of the pro surfers who paid tribute to the "Margaritaville" singer.

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