New Zealand: Santas Gone Wild!

by Jarrett Martineau | December 24, 2007 at 02:07 pm

504 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

For strange reasons likely known only to New Zealanders, this is the second time that a group of raging drunk santas have wreaked havoc in public just in time for the holidays.

The first occurred in Aukland back in December 2005. This time, however, the Santas struck in Wellington, scaring movie-goers at a local cinema.

Whatever happened to jolly old St. Nic?

A gang of about 50 apparently drunken Santas invaded a New Zealand cinema complex at the weekend — frightening customers, damaging property and swearing, the cinema's manager said Monday.

Police believe the Santas were a group of university students dressed in Santa suits who ran amok for 20 seconds through Hoyts Cinema complex in the South Island city of Christchurch on Saturday, manager Derek Rive said.

"As they ran through the complex they wrecked everything they could, the Christmas tree — they bowled everything over ... (they were) just absolute fools," he told The Associated Press.

He said the "hooligans" abused patrons, chanted obscenities, ripped down posters and knocked over cardboard figures advertising films.

"How often do a bunch of Santas just go and wreak havoc?" Rive said. "It was a random act of stupidity" that upset moviegoers.

Security cameras caught the action, but Rive said with their hats, white beards and suits, the rampaging Santas cannot be identified.