For decades, the Salvation Army has assaulted innocent holiday shoppers—upstanding American citizens who are merely doing their patriotic duty and Buying More Stuff—with the piercing, irregular sounds of rattling metal. Waving hand-held acoustic weapons in the air, legions of red apron-wearing panhandlers perch outside popular consumer goods retailers, shilling for pocket change while battering eardrums.

It’s a lucrative gig. In most of the United States these sonic assailants are volunteers, but in New York City, bell-ringing is actually a paying part-time job.

It was time to take back the streets from these mercenaries of din. We assembled a strikeforce to drown out the cacophony with the soothing melody of a Christmastime classic.

Further reading: full write-up from Improv Everywhere

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