Issue and Opponent: Denmark was hit especially hard by the global energy crisis of 1973. Following the start of the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, OPEC countries announced an oil embargo against the United States and the Netherlands for their support of Israel during the war. The embargo continued even after the war ended, causing an international energy crisis because of the enormous global dependence on foreign oil exports. The energy crisis came as Denmark struggled with high levels of unemployment and economic stagnation. In the early 1970s, young Danes from Copenhagen’s “hippie” Christianshavn neighborhood sought to bring public attention to the country’s economic and social problems. They formed the political theater troupe Solvognen and combined activism and humor to create public spectacles. Dilemma Action: In December 1974, over 100 performers from Solvognen dressed as Santa Claus and took to the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital. For eight days before Christmas, the Julemandshæren, or Santa Claus Army performed good deeds and acts of civil disobedience in support of the Danish working class. At first, they sang Christmas carols, handed out sweets, and asked people what they wanted for Christmas. The actions of the Santa Claus Army became increasingly radical as the week continued. The Santas climbed the fence surrounding a shuttered General Motors plant and claimed they would give the automotive jobs back to their rightful owners. They visited schools and distributed alternative history books which highlighted the history of Denmark’s poor and working class. They marched into a bank to ask for money to distribute to the public. At the end of the week, the Santas gathered at the Magasin department store and handed customers items from the store’s shelves claiming they were gifts. In designing the spectacle, the Solvognen performers sought to cast Santa Claus as the benefactor of the poor and to bring attention to Denmark’s working class and unemployed. They also aimed to highlight the way that capitalism constrains material generosity and to convey the message that Christmas has become a consumerist spectacle. By dressing as Santa Claus while committing acts of civil disobedience, the performers knew that any attempts by the police to stop or arrest them would produce negative media attention. Outcomes: After shop assistants and security guards at Magasin unsuccessfully tried to stop the Santa Claus Army from giving away merchandise as presents, the police arrived. They took the Santas outside and arrested them. The performance gained widespread media attention for the images of Santas being brutally beaten by police outside the store. Following the end of the spectacle, debate raged in Copenhagen newspapers about the protesters’ treatment by the police and their freedom of speech, as well as whether Solvognen’s performance could be considered political theater at all. Solvognen deemed the action a success because it drew attention to Denmark’s socioeconomic issues while criticizing the bourgeois materialism of Christmas.