The year Santa Claus visited Toronto the day after Halloween

With barely a dent made in trick-or-treat stashes, it seemed a little early for Santa Claus to be showing up.

But on Nov. 1, 1981, the man in red appeared on the streets of Toronto.

"It seemed all wrong," said George McLean, the host of The National, summing up the strangeness of Santa's very early visit to the city, almost two months before Christmas.

"The weather was warm and sunny, Halloween pumpkins were still in the windows and most kids hadn't recovered from trick-or-treat hangovers."

Still, that was the day the annual Santa Claus Parade had been scheduled for. And it went ahead despite the long wait until Christmas.

'The beginning of Christmas spirit'?

"The warm and sunny weather was perfect for the 77th annual Santa Claus Parade," said Barbara Keddy, the reporter assigned to the parade story. "But it made it hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner."

That's because it wasn't, even if some people wanted to make it seem that way.

"The parade signals the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and the beginning of Christmas spirit," said parade official Tony Brady, who was wearing neither a tuque nor a winter coat, as it wasn't nearly cold enough for winter clothing.

Keddy did find evidence that some department stores — likely including the main sponsor, Eaton's — had already set up Christmas displays.

But that didn't change that it felt way too early for a Santa Claus parade.