Attendance: 52,315
Adam Johnson hit a last-gasp winner to stun Newcastle at St James' Park and secure a record fourth straight derby win for Sunderland.
A topsy-turvy clash saw the visitors generate the better of the chances, with Steven Fletcher rattling the crossbar in the first half before Jordi Gomez and Johnson came close after the break.
But Johnson netted in the final minute to strike a seismic blow to the Magpies, blasting home from close range after good build-up play.
Newcastle had their opportunities too but couldn't lever open a determined Sunderland rearguard.Costel Pantilimon made a trio of world-class saves in the second half but the Black Cats – winners at St James' Park for the third straight year – struck late on.
The victory was a dream Christmas present for the red and white army, who saw their side set a new club record with a quartet of consecutive derby wins.
Gus Poyet continued his 100% record over Newcastle and spoke of his pride in his players at the end of the final game before Christmas.
The Uruguayan initially made just one change to the side which drew with West Ham, bringing in Fletcher up front to replace Jozy Altidore.
But his hand was forced in the warm-up as Anthony Reveillere pulled up injured, meaning Sebastian Coates stepped into the starting line-up in central defence with John O'Shea moving to left-back.
Both excelled, but Newcastle made a quick start with Sammy Ameobi heading over and Paul Dummett firing off-target.
The Romanian was the busier of the two keepers early on as he got down smartly to stop a low effort from Moussa Sissoko on the quarter-hour after Newcastle worked the ball well down the left.
But Sunderland weathered the storm, found their feet and were inches away from opening the scoring on 23 minutes.
Johnson swung a perfectly measured free-kick to the back post, where Connor Wickham headed inches off-target.
And they came even closer three minutes later. Seb Larsson's beautiful cross picked out Fletcher in space and his first-time effort beat Jak Alnwick but smashed against the crossbar.
But Newcastle remained dangerous on the break, with Perez curling a shot just wide from the left-hand edge of the box before being denied by a superb sliding challenge from Coates during the very next attack.
Back came Sunderland – Alnwick diving away to his right to claim Wickham's free header from Santiago Vergini's searching cross.
Wickham – who will miss the Boxing Day clash with Hull after collecting a fifth booking of the season – fired wide late in the opening period as the teams went in deadlocked at the break.
Sunderland continued on the front foot in the second half, with only a brave Steven Taylor clearance denying Fletcher an easy header at the back post.
The Scot looked set to nod in Wickham's clipped cross, but Taylor got in the way and opened up a nasty head wound by colliding with the post.
The injury necessitated stitches and, with Newcastle down to three at the back temporarily, the visitors generated a golden chance to take the lead
.Fletcher did brilliantly to guide the ball into the path of Gomez 15 yards out, but the unmarked Spaniard placed his shot past the post with Alnwick exposed.
Taylor's return after his temporary absence had the home crowd roaring their side on and Sunderland had to dig in for an extended spell of defensive work.
Daryl Janmaat dragged a shot wide after a surging run down the right, while Pantilimon produced the save of the match just after the hour, tipping a powerful Perez drive over the top at full stretch when the Newcastle man looked set to score.
Sunderland's determination came to the fore in spades as they rode out attack after attack, with Lee Cattermole making way for Liam Bridcutt with 20 minutes to go.
Frenetic didn't even begin to describe the pace as both camps sensed the opportunity to win a tight game and head into Christmas with a derby win under their belts.
Newcastle were pressing but there was no way beyond Pantilimon, who denied sub Adam Armstrong twice before stopping Perez again down low with a super save.
But the pendulum swung back the other way as Johnson almost put the visitors ahead 13 minutes from time.
The winger raced through and swerved a sliding challenge from Coloccini to go one-on-one with Alnwick, but his angled effort flashed agonisingly past the post.
Buckley entered the action in place of Wickham with 10 minutes to go as Newcastle – now essentially playing four up front after the introduction of Papiss Cisse – went for the jugular.
A superb headed clearance from Coates denied Cisse a look at goal, while Sissoko blasted towards the top corner from distance only to see Pantilimon tip the ball over at full stretch.
It was another breathtaking stop.
The save looked to have earned Sunderland a draw – but the away fans entered a Christmas dreamland as they saw their side plunder a sensational winner with just 15 seconds remaining in normal time.
After receiving possession on the right, sub Buckley kept his composure to roll a cool pass into the path of the wide-open Johnson, who set his sights and blasted the ball beyond a helpless Alnwick.
The celebrations were unbridled – on the pitch, on the bench and in the stands – as the home contingent looked on in stunned silence.
Five minutes of added time presented another challenge for Poyet's warriors, who almost doubled their lead when the tireless Larsson skipped around Alnwick only to be forced wide and hit the side-netting.
Newcastle huffed and puffed but the final moments were comfortable for a Sunderland side who now proudly take their place in the record books with a fourth straight triumph over their deadliest rivals.