The Night Before Christmas. Tales

Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol (1809-1852) is an outstanding writer of the first half of the 19th century, a classic of Russian literature, distinguished by his original talent.
Gogol was born into a family, traditionally believed to be from an ancient noble Cossack... lineage. His homeland was Ukraine, the village of Sorochintsy in the Poltava region, bordering Mirgorod, whose image—both comic and lyrical—often appears in his works. Gogol's family was large, and their life was defined by the rural lifestyle of the Little Russians (this term was used to refer to representatives of the southwestern group of East Slavs living in present-day Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland). It is believed that his father, who wrote amateur plays, and his beautiful-looking mother—devout and prone to mysticism—shaped the creative direction of the writer.
Interestingly, Gogol was not a good student; he was only interested in Russian literature and drawing, but thanks to his excellent memory, he learned the subjects, passing exams, and graduated from the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in Nezhin.
At the age of 21, Gogol moved to St. Petersburg as an idealist, fully intending to contribute greatly to society. However, in reality, he could only expect to serve as a minor official. A colossal transformation in his life occurred thanks to his entrance into the literary circle of Vasily Zhukovsky and Alexander Pushkin, whom he idolized.
Their interest and friendly support inspired Gogol to create exotic tales for St. Petersburg, depicting mystical Little Russia. "Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka. Tales, published by the beekeeper Ruda Panko," released in St. Petersburg in 1831 and 1832, marked the beginning of his fame and were highly appreciated by Pushkin: "Evenings Near Dikanka... astonished me. Here is true cheerfulness, sincere, unforced, without affectation, without stuffiness, and at times such poetry!.. All of this is so extraordinary in our present literature that I have not yet come to my senses."
"The Night Before Christmas" and "The Enchanted Place" are included in the second part of the "Evenings" cycle. The tales are imbued with subtle comedy; they resemble folk beliefs, but the fantasy so confidently enters the mundane world that it makes one believe in the impossible. "It is both funny and terrible at the same time," as the author himself said, chuckling at his characters.