Christmas Traditions in Yorkshire: From the Cosy to the Completely Bonkers
Christmas in Yorkshire. You might think it’s just like anywhere else in the UK — tinsel, turkey, telly.
Aye… no.
We Yorkshire folk don’t do “usual,” “normal,” or “following the rest of the country.”
We do things our way: bigger, louder, warmer, prouder, and usually dafter.
Below are some of the finest, funniest, and downright odd festive traditions our glorious county serves up each year.
🎄 Christmas Dinner – A Feast or an Engineering Challenge?
The Plate:
Not a plate. A reinforced disc of crockery that bends like a manhole cover in a heatwave. If you can lift it without groaning, it’s too small.
Yorkshire Puds:
Of course we have them with Christmas dinner. We invented them. We’ll put them on anything — turkey, trifle, possibly even cereal if pushed.
Pigs in Blankets:
Not those fingernail-sized southern ones.
Proper Yorkshire ones need two hands and possibly a spotter.
Portion Control:
Never heard of it. If you can still see the plate, add more.
“HOW MUCH?!”
A proud Yorkshire ritual: spending longer discussing turkey prices than cooking the turkey.
🎶 The Sheffield Carols – Loud, Lively & Definitely Not Church-Approved
Only in Yorkshire do we pack pubs to sing centuries-old carols that were kicked out of church for being too rowdy.
Expect:
Songs nobody else has ever heard of
Pint glasses used as percussion instruments
One bloke singing a harmony that doesn’t exist
A noise that could wake the dead… and annoy them
It’s chaotic, it’s loud, it’s wholesome — its grand.
Yorkshire Sword Dancing – Christmas with Blades
A festive tradition involving dancing, teamwork, coordination… and very sharp steel.
Imagine: Morris dancing, but after a strong cup of Yorkshire Tea.
It’s dramatic, energetic, and usually looks like a group of dads who accidentally formed a boyband after three pints.
Famous spots: Handsworth, Grenoside, Haxby.
No ankles were harmed in the making of these traditions (well… mostly).
Wassailing – Singing to Trees & Hoping Nobody Calls the Police or the Men in White Suits!
Yes, we really do it.
Wassailing involves:
Singing to apple trees like it’s Britain’s Got Absolutely No Talent
Banging pots and pans to “wake” the orchard
Pouring cider on the roots (always the good cider and not the diluted stuff that we drank a couple of pints of and now needs to escape from our body!)
Hoping the neighbours don’t dial 999 or the services of the local exorcist!
It’s bizarre, it’s ancient, and by eck, it’s a cracking excuse to drink warm booze outdoors.
“Piggin’ Out” – The Boxing Day Butty Challenge
Boxing Day in Yorkshire is basically a competitive sport. Its like Jenga but with food inbetween two slices of bread. The challenge being:
Build a leftover sandwich so huge it needs:
Two hands
A beach towel for a napkin
A structural support beam
And possibly planning permission
Turkey, ham, stuffing, roasties, pigs in blankets, parsnips, gravy — if it’s not nailed down in the kitchen or on the table, it’s going in.
If you don’t fear for your wrists, your waistline or know you have to later apologise to your stomach for what is coming, you’re not doing it right.
The Village Santa Who Knows EVERYTHING
Every Yorkshire village has one.
A Santa who knows: Who’s been scrapping, Who broke the school window, Who fed laxatives to the neighbour’s racing pigeons, whose dad hasn’t put the bins out for four weeks and a whole lot more.
Yorkshire Santa doesn’t mess about. If a kid’s naughty, he’ll tell them — publicly, loudly, and with witnesses.
Wrapping Up...
Yorkshire Christmas traditions are like a strong brew of Yorkshire Tea — bold, warm, and make you smile, whilst the one who is drinking it - is slightly bonkers!
Whether we’re belting out ancient carols, dancing with swords, serenading apple trees, or building a Boxing Day butty big enough to shade a small village… Christmas in Yorkshire has a character all of its own.
And we wouldn’t have it any other way.