Dear Tinsel Post Readers,
Every year around this time, just as the aurora begins to blush orange and the reindeer start shedding their summer glitter, someone inevitably asks me, “Jingle, do we even do Halloween up here?”
To which I reply: Do cocoa cauldrons bubble? Do bats wear bow ties? Does the Naughty & Nice Division start panicking the moment pumpkin spice hits the supply lines? Yes, my frosted friends — we most certainly do Halloween at the North Pole.
👻 A Bit of North Pole History (with Extra Cobwebs)
Halloween in the North Pole dates back to the founding of the Autumn Mischief Council — a spirited collective of elves, gnomes, and a few eccentric snow sprites who believed that every good-hearted workshop needed at least one night of sanctioned spookiness. Their motto: “Balance your jingle with a little jangle.”
Tradition began with the Lantern Parade of Frostlight, when elves would carve spectral designs into frozen gourds (the pumpkins never survived the climate) and light them with captured aurora sparkles. From there came the now-famous Haunted Cocoa Social, an annual gathering where marshmallows bob in bubbling brew while ghost stories are traded faster than sugar rations.
Some say even Santa himself once donned a cloak and wandered the candy-cane corridors whispering, “Boo.” (Unconfirmed, but the photographic evidence is suspiciously smudged with cocoa.)
🕯️ Modern Mischief and Preparation Pandemonium
Fast forward to today, and the preparations are in full swing. Workshop decorators have swapped garlands for cobwebs (both equally flammable, as Safety reminds us), Glimmer Merrymint is reviewing last-minute orders for black sequins and glow-in-the-dark bowties, and Buttons McSprightly is monitoring prank activity levels at an all-time high.
Meanwhile, the Department of Enchanted Energy has approved limited use of “Ecto-Sparkle” to illuminate haunted hayrides and spooky snow mazes — because nothing says “seasonal celebration” like phosphorescent snow drifts that occasionally giggle.
Our newsroom, naturally, is in chaos. Half the staff insists on dressing as classic North Pole figures (“I’m Santa, but make it ironic”), while the other half leans into gothic drama (“I’m a melancholy nutcracker haunted by deadlines”). I, of course, will be going as an overworked editor wrapped in caution tape and coffee stains — truly terrifying.
✨ Beyond Christmas Cheer
Now, before anyone accuses us of seasonal disloyalty, let me be clear: Halloween isn’t competition for Christmas — it’s its prelude. It’s the spark before the sparkle, the moment of playful darkness that makes the coming light even brighter.
Here at the North Pole, we celebrate more than just gifts and glitter. We honor curiosity, imagination, and the magic of mischief — the kind that reminds us to laugh at the unexpected, to wander through the woods by lantern light, and to remember that joy and wonder come in many costumes.
So this week, as you hang your frost bats, stir your pumpkin cocoa, and cast your minor decorative enchantments, remember: Christmas may be our crown, but Halloween is the twinkle in its shadow.
Warmly (and wickedly),
Jingle P. Peppermint
Editor-in-Chief, The Tinsel Post
P.S. If anyone finds the missing Haunted Cocoa Cauldron, please return it before it brews sentience again. It’s already tried to join the staff union twice.
