Santa goes surfing in Brazil for a good cause

SAO PAULO, Brazil – What’s on a surfer’s Christmas list? Big waves!

And, if you show up to this beach in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state around the holidays you just might be able to ask Santa Claus himself for perfect conditions.

Carlos Bahia is a surf instructor in the city of Sao Sebastiao and every Dec. he dons his Santa costume to celebrate Christmas and bring a smile to children’s faces.

But, unlike most Santa Clauses around the world, he doesn’t sit on a chair to hear a child’s wish list, he rides the waves of the best break in the region at Maresias Beach.

And, Bahia isn’t just showing off, he uses the attention his costume brings to collect donations from local businesses and distributes gifts every Christmas to children from impoverished neighborhoods in the region.

It turns out the surfing Santa has much in common with the ‘real’ Santa Claus!