Brockton Takes Back Santa Hat Title

Story and photos by Lisa E. Crowley
The BrocktonPost
BROCKTON—A sea of red hats filled a portion of Brockton’s downtown Sunday after more than 800 people gathered to reclaim the world record for the most people wearing Santa Claus hats at one time and in one place.
“I love this--this is awesome,” said Dan Clague, who along with his mother Betsy and father Dan rode their bikes about 2 miles to attend the rally. (Pictured on bikes)
Head organizer John Merian, owner of Tuxedos by Merian on Main Street, said between 840 and 872 were registered for the event and although it’s unlikely Guinness Book of World Records will sanction the gathering, for all intents and purposes Brockton has wrested the Santa hat title back from Mullingar, Ireland—which last year also unofficially topped Brockton’s record from 2008.
“Whether or not Guinness Book sanctions it or not doesn’t matter,” Merian said. “We beat Mullingar,” he said.
During the event that began at 11:30 a.m., organizers announced at about 1 p.m. 872 people had been counted as wearing a Santa hat.
Merian said the number is unofficial and will be checked this week by an independent certified accountant.
Even though the record-breaking day may not appear in the Guinness Book of World Records because of the expense and complications of the process, Merian said the hundreds who came out learned more about the city’s history and James Edgar’s role in that past.
Edgar, a Brockton businessman who owned now defunct department stores on Main Street where the rally was held, is credited as being the first to put on a Santa suit and greet patrons at the doors of his stores, becoming the first department store Santa in 1890—a move that has been embraced by retailers, most notably Macy’s.
That connection to Santa, Merian said, was the impetus for the first Santa Hat Challenge in 2008 when Brockton set the record at 507.
Mullingar, Ireland, a town about 60 minutes northwest of Dublin, held a similar downtown music and holiday festival last year unofficially set the record at 714.
During Sunday’s rally in Brockton, hundreds of parents and children danced to holiday music that echoed along the closed street and reached for the more than 200 T-shirts commemorating the record-breaking day that were thrown to the crowd by organizers.
Merian’s son Levon, a sophomore at Brockton High who helped hand out registration tickets, said it doesn’t really matter if the day counts as a record because the city likely has recaptured the Santa hat crown twice since Mullingar took it away last year and again more recently on Friday afternoon when more than 2,000 students at Brockton High donned hats in a dry-run of Sunday’s official count.
“It’s OK if we don’t break it because we always have next year,” Levon Merian said. (Pictured above at back with, from left to right, sister Maral, Amanda Morel, and Micah Morel)
The Santa Hat Challenge is a precursor to the city’s annual Holiday Parade that draws more than 5,000 to the city center.
Parade festivities kickoff next Saturday, Nov. 27 at 10 a.m. The parade begins at 1 p.m.
As a warm-up for the parade, many said the Santa Hat Challenge was a success.
“They love this,” said Shannon Bunting, who brought her two boys and two nieces who spent the 90 minutes dancing and spinning around before niece Dana Noyce’s 5th birthday party at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. (Dana Noyce dancing below)
“We love anything that tires them out,” Bunting said.
A group of Brookfield School girls--recipients of a handful of the 10,000 Santa hats handed out to the elementary schools and Brockton High by Merian with the help of Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital—danced to the music and screamed for organizers to throw T-shirts their way.
“This is fun,” said 12-year-old Leah Burke. (Pictured above with Leann Coker, Talia Provenzano and others)
Jon Lagerstedt had his 7-year-old son Nathan on his shoulders (Pictured below) as the boy waved and smiled at the throngs milling below him.
“We hope we set the record, but if not, we’re having a great time,” said Lagerstedt as he listened to Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” played by DJ Joe Lupica.
Dana Studley came to the rally with her daughter River, who turns 9 on Friday, and husband John, a Brockton native, after hearing about it early Sunday morning. “We jumped out of bed, got ready and came down to support the city,” Studley said. (Pictured below with daughter River)
It’s unclear if the record will be official, but John Merian said he believes that is beside the point.
“It’s really not about breaking a record—it’s about children learning about the history of their city,” Merian said. “Not one person leaving here didn’t have a good time and hopefully they will come back next year,” he said.