Socially distanced Surfing Santas take to the waves in Florida

Dec. 24 (UPI) -- The 11th annual Surfing Santa event in Florida went ahead Thursday with a smaller-than-usual number of St. Nicks taking to the waves while observing COVID-19 safety protocols.

The organizers of the annual Christmas Eve event in Cocoa Beach earlier announced it would be livestreamed virtually this year due to the pandemic, and surfers in Santa suits were encouraged to hit the waves individually while practicing social distancing.

"It's about a tenth of the normal number of surfers ... but it's still fun," Santa-suited participant Gregg Galzerano told WKMG-TV.

The crowd included hundreds of families, but was noticeably smaller than the usual gathering of tens of thousands of spectators.