Christmas is on its way... Hey there! For so many people all over the world, December is a special time. Not only because of Christmas tunes, black friday discounts and present hunting. It is time for care, generosity, kindness and unity - all of these together make up that precious concept of miracles. The miracle of mastering a new language rises best from a whirl of strong feelings that help to imprint strange grammar structures and weird collocations in our memory and make them close and dear. That's why reading Christmas stories can be really handy and enjoyable. Let's remember in short "Papa Panov's Special Christmas" by Leo Tolstoy. Intermediate ESL Learners (B1/B2) It starts - '...Old Papa Panov, the village shoemaker, stepped outside his shop to take one last look around. The sounds of happiness, the bright lights and the faint but delicious smells of Christmas cooking reminded him of past Christmas times when his wife had still been alive and his own children little. Now they had gone...' One might suppose that it is a story of a lonely and sad old man in need. But as the plot unfolds, Papa Panov turns to be eager to rescue others rather than be rescued. Reading the Bible he thinks about how he would take care of little Jesus and give him his best ever made shoes. While asleep he sees Jesus who promises to visit him on the Christmas day. Purehearted as he is, he believes his dream and waits for Jesus to come all day, meantime helping everyone who needs help. At the end of the day, disappointed that Jesus hadn't come, he suddenly has a vision of the long stream of people who had come to him that day, and Jesus saying: "I was hungry and you fed me," he said. "I was naked and you clothed me. I was cold and you warmed me. I came to you today in everyone of those you helped and welcomed." And the story ends with: "A great peace and happiness seemed to fill the room, overflowing Papa Panov's heart..." What miracles have you had over the year of 2025?