As Will Ferrell says in the 2003 hit holiday film Elf, the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. But handing out 68,000 Santa Claus hats certainly doesn’t hurt.

Ahead of the College Football Playoff matchup between No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 11 Tulane on Saturday at Vaught Hemingway Stadium, every fan found a Santa hat waiting for them on their seat. The announced attendance of 68,002 fans—over 4,000 more than the 64,038 listed capacity at Vaught Hemingway Stadium—was more than enough to break the world record for the largest gathering of people wearing Santa hats.

A historic day of holiday cheer.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the previous largest gathering of people wearing Santa hats belonged to the Los Angeles Angels, who handed out red holiday caps to 30,333 fans ahead of a game June 25, 2014 to celebrate the halfway mark to Christmas. Los Angeles beat the Twins that afternoon 6–2 at Angel Stadium.

Apparently not everyone received a Santa hat in Oxford on Saturday, however. According to Sam Hutchens of the Clarion Ledger, the section of Tulane fans at the stadium did not receive Santa hats. That ... or at least they’re not wearing them.

The Santa hats are a fitting souvenir for a game featuring teams wearing uniforms featuring red (Ole Miss) and green (Tulane).

At halftime, Ole Miss used a bit of holiday cheer to its advantage and entered the break with a 17–3 lead.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ole Miss Fans Set New World Record for Holiday Spirit in College Football Playoff.

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