AGAIN THIS YEAR, those fun-lovers at the Seattle Cacophany Society came out in force for “Santarchy” (aka “The Night of 100 Santas”), a Friday-night Belltown pub crawl.

The premise is extremely simple. Several dozen Santas (plus some elves, clowns, reindeer, and the occasional Mary and Joseph) walk from bar to bar, brightening the evening by their raucous presence.

They ask some random bargoers whether they’ve been naughty or nice. Those who say “naughty” get a small candy cane. Those who say “nice” are given a gentle lashing and a scolding “Wrong answer.”

Despite the costume-party parody aspect of the event, it’s one of the purest Christmas Spirit spreaders I know of. No sales, no soliciting, no pressure, no be-happy-or-else intimidation. Just good old kitschy joy.

(The Cacophonics do other stuff year-round, and can be reached at this link.)

Meanwhile, the most appropriate holiday greeting this year could well be the simple message at Ross Dress for Less: “Hope.” (It’s just too bad the sign’s tree-ornament caricature looks too much like a lit cherry bomb.)