World Santa Claus Congress

World Santa Claus Congress

Late JulyThe World Santa Claus Congress is held every July at the Bakken amusement park in Klampenborg, Denmark. The three-day event typically brings together more than 100 Santa Clauses from a more than a dozen countries, including Japan and Venezuela. The Santas, who may attend by invitation only, must submit proof of professional Santa status—for example, a videotape of themselves serving as Santa Claus at a shopping mall. During the congress, the Santas can take professional development courses in such subjects as how to walk like, laugh like, and exude the generous spirit of Santa Claus. They dance around a Christmas tree and enjoy a traditional Danish Christmas feast of roast pork, cabbage, and rice pudding. By tradition, the Santas also travel by antique fire engines and buses to a nearby beach for an annual dip in the sea. The congress has taken place at Bakken every year since July 1963, when an entertainer at the park invited a group of Danish Santas to a children's party.
CONTACTS:
Bakken
A/S Dyrehavsbakken
Dyrehavevej 62
Klampenborg 2930 Denmark
www.bakken.dk