William McKinley High was decked out in its holiday best for “A Very Glee Christmas,” but Mr. Schue (Matthew Morrison) didn’t have a lot to feel cheerful about. Emma (Jayma Mays) is married, and even her invitation to the Christmas party she’s having with her new husband felt like an insult. We discovered near the top of the episode that Brittany (Heather Morris) still believes in Santa Claus. Artie (Kevin McHale) became determined at once to preserve her childlike illusion … at all costs.

This all led into a fantastic scene featuring “The Most Wonderful Day of the Year,” in which all the Glee kids decorated a festive tree … though the ornaments, fake gifts and even the tree were either stolen or found. Will Schuester couldn’t allow them to keep their pilfered holiday items, of course.

New Directions wasn’t feeling a lot of holiday cheer, either … mainly, because the football team learned how to turn slushies green using food coloring. Mr. Schue came up with the abysmally bad idea to take the club around to carol from class to class. It was a debacle, of course, though there was nothing wrong with Mercedes (Amber Riley) and her beautiful rendition of “We Need a Little Christmas.”

But green slushies and stolen Christmas ornaments are nothing compared to the pain that Rachel (Lea Michele) is feeling. Despite her very best efforts, ex-boyfriend Finn (Cory Monteith) continues to shun her … yes, even after hearing her perform “Last Christmas.” When she mournfully performed “Merry Christmas, Darling,” Puckleberry fanatics all over the country became Finchel converts.

Artie’s heart-stopper came when Brittany asked Santa Claus for the impossible: for Artie to walk again. Uh-oh. Rather than watching his girlfriend’s illusions be shattered, Artie came up with the brilliant plan of asking Coach Bieste (Dot-Marie Jones) to break into Brittany’s house while masquerading as Santa.

But before that, we were treated to a beautiful duet from Blaine (Darren Criss) and Kurt (Chris Colfer): “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” Will visited Kurt at Dalton Academy for a very special reason: he needed to get a gift for Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) for the school’s Secret Santa exchange. Kurt’s choice? A track suit with a fur-lined hood, of course.

Sue didn’t get to keep her track suit. As it happens, the Coach rigged the Secret Santa exchange in order to get more gifts. As she explained, “See, people, I hate Christmas -- but I love presents.” Will wasn’t standing for it. He confiscated her gifts so they could be distributed to homeless children … and it was a big mistake.

In what will surely go down as one of the best scenes in Glee history, Sue Sylvester became the Grinch -- complete with a rein-dog ("Trust me, they're real"). Sue's grinchly behavior (and k.d. lang's version of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch") definitely did Dr. Suess proud. She cut down stockings, shredded sheet music, stole the gifts and completely demolished the Christmas tree ... while painted green. Brittany entered the room during the disaster and became Cindy Lou Who, eagerly buying the story provided by "Santa" that the tree had to be taken back to the workshop. Our only complaint is the song. While more than ably sung by lang, we feel pretty sure that Gleeks wanted to hear (Jane Lynch) sing it instead.

Despite Coach Bieste's best efforts, Brittany was not swayed by her very touching speech about Santa's gift of patience. "But -- you're magic," Brittany argued. As she explained to Artie, "If Santa isn't magical, I don't even know if I want to believe anymore." Artie took her home while the rest of the club beautifully performed "Welcome Christmas" in the teacher's lounge. The song is the same tune heard in Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and it's still magical. As the teachers rose to their feet to donate money for the needy kids, Sue Sylvester walked down the hall from her office ... and, like the Grinch, had a change of heart.

If you weren't already tearing up by this point in the episode, there's no way you were able to hold back when we returned to the school's choir room. Using a ReWalk invented by "some guy in Israel," Artie was actually able to walk and bring Brittany's holiday dream to life. The machine was underneath Brittany's tree. It wasn't placed there by Brittany or her father, which left most of the club mystified. Brittany knew, of course, that Santa had left it behind ... and she was right. Coach Bieste is actually the one who made it possible for Artie to walk again. The ReWalk is the world's first viable upright walking assistance tool which will be commercially marketed. It is marketed by Argo Medical Technologies and is currently under clinical trial testing in Philadelphia.

And divorced Mr. Schue didn't have to spend the holiday alone after all. He arrived home to find none other than Sue in his apartment, decorating a Christmas tree with the help of the New Directions kids. She did get in a pretty good joke, just the same, giving Schue an electric shaver as a holiday present, so he can "put us out of our misery and shave off that Chia pet." The two wished each other a Merry Christmas, leaving all Gleeks everywhere with the idea that holiday miracles really are possible. Just remember, Christmas time will always be ... just as long as we have Glee.