Anti-government protesters stormed through shopping centers in Hong Kong on Christmas, chanting pro-democracy slogans and forcing a mall to close early as cops fired tear gas to disperse crowds for the second day in a row.

“Confrontation is expected, it doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas,” said Chan, a 28-year-old restaurant worker who was part of a crowd swapping insults with police outside a shopping center in the Mong Kok district, CNBC reported.

“I’m disappointed the government still didn’t respond to any of our … demands. We continue to come out even if we don’t have much hope.”

Riot cops patrolled several neighborhoods while tourists and shoppers, many sporting Santa hats or reindeer antlers, strolled by.

Hundreds of protesters, dressed in black and wearing face masks, swarmed shopping malls around the Chinese-ruled city, shouting slogans such as “Liberate Hong Kong! Revolution of our times!”

Police arrested several people in a shopping mall in the Sha Tin district after pepper-spraying them, and the mall closed early.

The city’s leader Carrie Lam said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that many Hong Kongers and tourists were disappointed that their “Christmas Eve celebrations have been ruined by a group of reckless and selfish rioters.”

“Such illegal acts have not only dampened the festive mood but also adversely affected local businesses,” Lam said.

The protests began in June, prompted by a bill that would have allowed the extradition of criminal suspects to mainland China.

The bill was later withdrawn, but demonstrations have since evolved into a broader movement demanding investigations into police brutality and democratic reform.