Metro-North bans booze for SantaCon

Metro-North will have a 24-hour booze ban on its trains during the SantaCon in New York City this weekend.

The annual event combines a costume parade and a pub crawl that sometimes has resulted in raucous incidents involving way-too-merry Santas.

The ban is in effect from noon Saturday to noon Sunday.

Alcohol will not be permitted on Metro-North trains and stations to maintain safe and orderly travel during this weekend’s SantaCon event, Metro-North said.

MTA police officers will be on duty at Grand Central Terminal and stations throughout Metro-North territory as well as on trains to enforce the 24-hour restriction.

MTA police will confiscate alcoholic beverages and issue summonses carrying fines or imprisonment, they said.

Violators also may be subject to removal from the train or station by police.

SantaCon day, held annually in early December, is one of three times a year the MTA bans alcohol. The other times are New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day.

The first SantaCon was held in San Francisco in 1994 as a protest against the rampant consumerism that has become associated with Christmas.

John Minchillo / Associated Press A man dressed as Santa Claus drinks a beer as he during SantaCon in New York City in 2014.