Ultimate Northern Christmas Quiz

1. Cheese and Christmas cake make an unusual but traditional combination in Yorkshire. What brand of cheese is typically part of this combo?
2. In Lancashire and Yorkshire, parents often warn children that they’ll find what in their stocking if they misbehave.
3. What essential food, usually smothered in gravy, is a common addition to a Christmas roast in Yorkshire but is often missing in other parts of the UK?
4. Dewsbury Minster rings its bells on Christmas Eve for every year since Christ was born. What other religious occasion does the ringing of the bells mark?
5. On Boxing Day in Flamborough, you can witness sword dancers performing around the village. What do these traditional dancers wear?
6. In medieval Lancashire, a special log would be chosen to burn in the hearth for the 12 days of Christmas. What was the name of this log?
7. In the festive season, children in the East Yorkshire town of Driffield visit local shops and shout for gifts; local shops then toss offerings from their windows. What is this tradition called?
8. In which North Yorkshire town is it a tradition for a person to stand in the market square wearing a horse skull on Christmas Eve to bring good luck?
9. In Lancashire and Yorkshire, it’s a tradition to ‘deck the halls’ with evergreens. What do evergreen plants typically represent?
10. During Christmas time in Lancashire in the 1800s, people would roam the streets wearing costumes and masks, causing a ruckus. What were these revellers called?
11. Lancastrians often headed to orchards on the twelfth night to ensure a good harvest to ward off spirits. What was this tradition called?
12. Lancashire locals headed to Poulton-Le-Fylde for the Flesh Day market on Christmas Eve. What were they buying at this market?
13. In Lancashire, an ‘old ball’ was carried around, and a stick would bite any passersby. What was this ‘old ball’?
14. What fruit was traditionally added to Christmas stockings in both Lancashire and Yorkshire?
15. William Strickland of Yorkshire introduced this bird, essential to a Christmas dinner, to the UK in 1526. What is the bird?
16. Not related to Christmas, but to ease into darker nights, the Blackpool Illuminations were first hung when?
17. Preston’s Flag Market is a common sight during Christmastime. In 2021, what part of the nativity was stolen from this location?
18. Pantomimes are enjoyed throughout Lancashire and Yorkshire during the festive period. What iconic line is typically shouted by children after an actor utters, “Oh yes, it is!”?
19. On Christmas Eve, where do most people in the North traditionally head for a drink or two?
20. What tradition involves going from house to house and singing?
21. What is the ringing of the bells on Christmas Eve at Dewsbury Minster known as?
22. The man in the big red suit visits houses across the North every Christmas, but what colour was his suit originally?
23. What is the name of the tradition where Yorkshire’s children would sing carols while holding Christmas trees?
24. What coin is traditionally placed in a Yorkshire pudding in Lancashire and Yorkshire?
25. In the 20th century, households across the North often enjoyed Twelfth Night cake. What was hidden inside the cake that would grant a girl and a boy royal status for the night?

Check your answers here!

NorthernLife Nov/Dec 23