The festival brings around a hundred decorated Christmas trees to the medieval York Minster, with a light switch-on at the Minster Mash-Up service.
York Minster fills with around a hundred Christmas trees for the Christmas Tree Festival, which runs from Saturday 28 November 2026 to 5 January 2027. It opens at 10am on that first Saturday, and the trees are spread across the Nave, the North Transept, the Chapter House and the Lady Chapel, so you'll be walking through a good chunk of the cathedral to see them all.
Each tree is decorated to its own theme by local businesses, schools and charities, so they're all different rather than a single matching set. Some feature flashing lights, and there are prayer trees where you can add your own message to a tag. It's a community effort as much as a display, with the trees coming from across the city.
The festival is part of the Minster's wider Christmas programme, which in previous years has included carol concerts, a children's performance of The Nutcracker and a crib service. The start of the season is marked by the Minster Mash-Up, a service for children and families that marks the beginning of Advent and switches on the lights.
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Entry is free with a sightseeing ticket during general admission times, so you'll need to book your visit through the Minster's usual channels. The trees stay up until 5 January, giving you a few weeks to fit it in.
