This Christmas Eve thousands of beach-goers got to see local surfers dressed as Santa Claus hit the waves in Cocoa Beach.
- Santa surfers hit the waves in Cocoa Beach
- Over 800 Santas hit the beach for the annual event
- Money raised goes to Grind for Life and the FL Surf Museum
Families kicked off their holiday beach side with the annual Surfing Santas event.
Over 800 Santa suit-wearing surfers soaked up some sun while catching some waves.
"You know I'm from Kansas so if you can come out and surf on Christmas Eve, there is such joy in that, that is the spirit of Christmas," said Rebecca Sprik, Surfing Santa.
Surfing Santas who participated Sunday were surfing for a purpose.
They were trying to set a new record for the most surfers on one wave.
"Do you feel the energy? This place is alive! Thousands of people came out to celebrate Surfing Santa and it's here," said George Trosset, Surfing Santas Founder.
The Christmas Eve tradition started several years ago as an intimate family gathering. However, since then its popularity has exploded.
"So 19 of my friends came, the next year we had 84, I knew about half of those people and for the longest time Surfing Santas was the best kept secret on Cocoa Beach," said Trosset.
Fast forward to 9 years later where an estimated 10,000 people are expected to attend.
The organization also hopes to top 1,000 Surfing Santas.
The money raised from Sunday's event will go to two non-profit organizations called Grind for Life and the Florida Surf Museum.
To learn more about Surfing Santas, head to http://surfingsantas.org/.