The Night Before Christmas: Stories

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol 1809–1852 - an outstanding writer of the first half of the 19th century, a classic of Russian literature, distinguished by his unique talent. Gogol was born into a family, allegedly descending from an ancient noble Cossack lineage.... His homeland was Ukraine, the village of Sorochintsy in the Poltava province, bordering Mirgorod, whose image - both comic and lyrical - often appears in his works. The Gogol family was large, and their life was defined by the rural lifestyle of Malorossians, as representatives of the southwestern group of Eastern Slavs living in modern-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland were once called. It is believed that his father, who wrote amateur plays, and his beautiful mother - pious and prone to mysticism – shaped the writer's creative direction. Interestingly, Gogol was not an outstanding student: he was only interested in Russian literature and drawing, but thanks to his excellent memory, he memorized subjects to pass exams, graduating from the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in Nizhyn. At 21, Gogol moved to St. Petersburg as an idealist, full of intentions to bring great benefit to society. However, in reality, he could only hope for a position as a minor official. A colossal transformation in his life took place due to his entry into the literary circle of Vasily Zhukovsky and Alexander Pushkin, whom he idolized. Their interest and friendly support inspired Gogol to create exotic stories for St. Petersburg, depicting mystical Malorussia. Evenings at the Farm Near Dikanka. The stories, published by the beekeeper Rudoy Panko, were released in St. Petersburg in 1831 and 1832, marking the beginning of his fame and were highly praised by Pushkin: The Evenings Near Dikanka… astonished me. Here is true cheerfulness, sincere, unforced, without pretension, without stuffiness. And at times, what poetry!.. All of this is so extraordinary in our current literature that I have not yet come to my senses. The Night Before Christmas and The Enchanted Place entered the second part of the Evenings cycle. The stories are imbued with subtle humor; they echo folk beliefs, but the fantasy confidently enters the everyday world, making one believe in the impossible. It is both funny and horrifying at the same time, as the author himself said, chuckling at his characters.