In 2014, a Christmas procession started a year before by the Thrissur Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church, entered the Guinness World Records for having the largest number of people dressed up as Santa Claus. A total of 18,112 people in Father Christmas costumes turned up at the event called Buon Natale held annually in Thrissur in Kerala, leading the authorities to declare it “the largest gathering of Santa Claus”.

In 2013, the procession began with about 7,000 people. Ravi Jose Thanickal, a resident of Thrissur and an associate of the event’s organising committee says it was Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath who originally came up with the idea, inspired by a similar event celebrated somewhere in Europe, and keen to recreate it in his hometown. The event is celebrated under the auspices of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Thrissur which has nearly half a million Syro-Malabar Catholics now, and which used to be the largest Catholic diocese in India when it included the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Irinjalakuda until 1978 and Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palghat until 1973. It is the parishes under the Archdiocese that appoint a certain number of people every year to appear in the red and white costumes.