Spaw Sunday, or Spa Sunday, is a celebration held on the first Sunday in May and peculiar to

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and, formerly,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. It is focused on local

holy wells A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guard ...

spas Spas or SPAS may refer to: * Spa, a therapeutic water treatment Geography *Spas, Russia, several rural localities in Russia * Spas, Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast, a village in Lviv Raion in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine * Spas, Sambir Raion, Lviv Oblast, a vil ...

whose spring waters are believed to have restorative or healing properties only on that day. Celebrations usually include a short pilgrimage from the local church to the spring, and a blessing of the waters by the clergy, after which the crowd take turns to smell or taste the usually highly sulphurous waters. Traditionally liquorice was steeped in a cup of collected waters, or shaken in a bottle of same, to sweeten the taste. Though it is not officially recommended to drink the waters, watching others react to the strong taste is part of the spectacle.

Dock pudding Dock pudding is a distinctive West Yorkshire dish produced chiefly in the Calder Valley area. Its main ingredients are the leaves of bistort (sometimes called "gentle dock" or "Passion dock", though it is not a member of the genus ''Rumex''), tog ...

is served at the

Calderdale Calderdale is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England, whose population in 2020 was 211,439. It takes its name from the River Calder, and dale, a word for valley. The name Calderdale usually refers to the borough through which the u ...

events. The practice was common up until the early part of the 20th century but nearly died out. In a few places it has been successfully revived in recent years and the day's events are accompanied by brass bands, long sword dancing, or similar traditional displays, at: *

Midgley Midgley () is a hill-top village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east from Burnley and west-north-west of Halifax, and just north of the A646 road. Nearby villages are Mytholmroyd to the west-south-west, ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

: the most popular *

Cragg Vale Cragg Vale is a village in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England, located south of Mytholmroyd on the B6138 road which joins the A58 and the A646. The village is part of Luddendenfoot Ward of Calderdale Council. History Early days There is e ...

: not far from

Gunthwaite Gunthwaite is a hamlet in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Gunthwaite and Ingbirchworth and on the boundary of Kirklees in West Yorkshire. At the 2001 census, the parish had a populatio ...

Penistone Penistone ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which had a population of 22,909 at the 2011 census. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is west of Barnsley, n ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. In N ...

: some 25 miles from the other spas

References

{{reflist Holidays in England English folklore Spring (season) events in England