Surfing Santas brave unusually cold Florida temperatures for annual event

COCOA BEACH, Fla. — While much of the nation woke up to blizzard-like conditions, at least one tradition continued on Florida’s Space Coast on Saturday.

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Surfing Santas.

The group of Jolly Old St. Nick lookalikes have been attracting surfing buffs from around the world to the end of Minuteman Causeway in Cocoa Beach since 2009, WFTV reported.

On a sunny but unusually cold day in Florida, members of Surfing Santas of Cocoa Beach were ready to catch waves in the Atlantic Ocean.

“It’s on!!! A beautiful sunny day for Surfing Santas 2022!” the organization wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.

According to the National Weather Service, the temperature in Cocoa Beach was 36 degrees at 6 a.m. EST, four hours before the event started. It was 44 degrees shortly before noon, the agency said.

“Surfing Santa LOVES this cool weather!” the organization wrote in an Instagram post.

The event began at 7:30 a.m. with an invocation and performance of the classic Hawaiian Christmas song “Mele Kalikimaka,” WFTV reported.

According to its website, money collected from the sale of Surfing Santas merchandise helps the Florida Surf Museum in Cocoa Beach. It also benefits Grind for Life, which provides financial assistance to cancer patients and their families.

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