More than 14,000 people dressed as Santa Clauses paraded in Portugal's city of Porto on Sunday to try to set a new world record for the largest gathering of Santas and raise money for charity.

　　Despite cold weather and drizzling rain, the crowd in red-and-white hats and jackets, including scores of women and children with fake white beards, strolled through the city streets singing songs and dancing in the annual parade that started in the afternoon and continued after dark.

　　"It's not just a gathering of people at the time of the year when people normally get together, but it is also a social event to bring the warmth of Christmas to those who don't always have it," Vitor Ferreira, one of the organizers of the event, told reporters.

　　Every Santa, or Pai Natal (Father Christmas) as he is known in Portugal, who took part in the parade donated 1 euro to buy presents for the needy children in Porto, Portugal's second-largest city, Ferreira said.

　　He said 17,400 people had signed up to take part, although bad weather prevented some from parading. Still, over 14,200 showed up in the end, which organisers claimed to be record, according to RTP national television channel.

　　According to the Guinness World Records web site (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com), the previous world record for the largest gathering of Santas was set last year in Derry City, Northern Ireland, where a total of 12,965 people took part dressed up as Santa or Santa's helpers.

上周日，一万四千多人装扮成 “圣诞老人”参加在葡萄牙波尔图市举行的大游行，此次活动旨在创造规模最大的圣诞老人集会的世界纪录，另一个目的则是为慈善募款。

　　此次一年一度的圣诞老人游行从当天下午开始，一直持续到傍晚。尽管天气寒冷，天空飘着细雨，但穿戴着红白相间的帽子和衣服的“圣诞老人”们热情不减，他们沿街而行，载歌载舞，游行队伍中还有几十名戴着白色大胡子的妇女和儿童。

　　活动组织者之一维托•费雷拉在接受记者采访时说：“这不仅是每年一度的大聚会，更是一个重要的社会活动，它把节日的温暖带给每一个人，尤其是那些穷人。”

　　费雷拉称，参与此次游行的每位“圣诞老人(葡语中被称为Pai Natal)”都捐款1欧元，为波尔图的贫困儿童购买圣诞礼物。波尔图为葡萄牙第二大城市。

　　他说，共有17400人报名参加此次活动，但因天气原因，一些人没来参加。尽管如此，据葡萄牙RTP广播电视公司报道，最终共有14200人参加了此次活动，组织者称这一数字创下了最新纪录。

　　据吉尼斯世界纪录网站(http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com)介绍，此前规模最大的“圣诞老人”集会纪录于去年在北爱尔兰的德里市诞生，当时共有12965人装扮成圣诞老人或圣诞老人帮手参加了那次游行活动。

　　Vocabulary:

　　needy:being in need; impoverished(贫穷的;贫困的)