Christmas bedtime story: the northern lights

3 min read · For: Ages 6–9

It was a clear, cold night at the North Pole. The workshop was quiet. The elves were going to bed.

But Mo, the smallest elf, was still standing by the window, looking up at the sky.

Santa came and stood beside him. "Can't sleep, Mo?"

"The older elves say that sometimes the sky dances," said Mo. "In green and pink and purple. Is that true?"

Santa smiled. "It's true," he said. "They're called the northern lights. And I have a feeling tonight might be a good night for them. Shall we go and look?"

Mo's eyes grew as big as snowballs. "Now? In the dark?"

"Wrap up warm," said Santa.

Up the hill

Mo put on two sweaters, his thickest scarf and his hat with the bell. Santa put on his big red coat and took a lantern and a blanket.

Together, they walked out into the snow. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The path went up the hill behind the workshop. It was steep, and Mo's legs were short. So halfway up, Santa lifted him onto his shoulders.

From up there, Mo could see the whole North Pole. The workshop roof, white with snow. The stable, with one small window glowing. The frozen lake, shining in the starlight.

Waiting

At the top of the hill, Santa spread out the blanket. They sat down close together and he tucked his coat around Mo.

Santa blew out the lantern. It was very dark. And very, very quiet.

"Now we wait," whispered Santa. "The sky does not like to be rushed."

They waited. Mo could hear his own breathing. In and out. In and out. He could hear the snow settling. He could hear, far away, a reindeer snorting softly in its sleep.

The stars twinkled. One, two, a hundred, a thousand.

Mo's eyes began to feel heavy.

The sky dances

Then Santa touched his arm gently. "Look, Mo," he whispered.

Low over the hills, a pale green ribbon had appeared in the sky. It was so faint at first that Mo was not sure he was really seeing it.

Then it grew brighter. It stretched. It rippled, like a curtain in a soft breeze. Then another ribbon joined it, and another, green and silver, and at the edges, a soft pink.

The lights swayed. They swirled. They danced slowly across the whole sky, above the workshop, above the stable, above Mo and Santa on their little hill.

Mo did not say anything at all. He just looked, with his mouth open.

"Do you like it?" whispered Santa.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," whispered Mo.

Home to bed

They watched until the lights slowly faded away, like a song coming to its end.

Then Santa lit the lantern again, lifted Mo onto his shoulders, and carried him down the hill. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

By the time they reached the workshop, Mo was fast asleep, his cheek resting on Santa's woolly hat.

Santa tucked him into his little bed and pulled the blanket up to his chin.

"Goodnight, Mo," he whispered. "Dream of dancing skies."

And Mo did.

For grown-ups

The northern lights (aurora borealis) are real. They appear when tiny particles from the sun meet the air high above the far north, and they glow in green, pink and purple. You can find photos and videos together to see what Mo saw.