Thousands of people dressed as Father Christmas jammed streets, pavements and bars around the world on Saturday for annual SantaCon charity pub crawls.

In New York City, where temperatures hovered around freezing, the merriment kicked off at about 10am and was expected to stretch into the evening.

Santas and others dressed as Grinches and elves strolled to bars and clubs, flooding the streets with a crimson tide of Christmas cheer.

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Revellers in New York (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

“The NYC SantaCon is a charitable, non-commercial, non-political, nonsensical Santa Claus convention that happens once a year to spread absurdist joy,” the organisers’ website explained.

SantaCon participants are encouraged to donate 15 dollars (£12) to enter those venues taking part. Organisers say the money will go to charity.

Similar Christmas-themed festivals were being held on Saturday in about 50 cities around the globe, including London and San Francisco.

SantaCon events were taking place around the world (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

New York City police posted reminders on social media that open containers of alcohol are prohibited in the streets and that blocking pedestrian and car traffic can lead to a summons.

They also encouraged people to have a designated driver.

Commuter rail lines in the region banned passengers from drinking on board.

Santas and Grinches hit the streets for annual SantaCon bar crawls