The Night Before Christmas : "Or The Night of Christmas Eve"

Written in 1831 by the father of Russian literature, this beloved tale features the adventures of Vakula, the blacksmith, in his fight against the devil, who has stolen the moon above the village of Dikanka and is wreaking havoc on its inhabitants, all to win the love of the most beautiful girl in town, Oksana. Zany and uproarious, prefiguring both the Russian satirical and realist traditions, drawing inspiration from the village folk tales of Gogol's native Ukraine, this stands as a monument of Russian literature.