Christmas Spider
THE LEGEND OF THE CHRISTMAS SPIDER
(A folk legend from Germany and the Ukraine)
Once upon a time in Germany long ago, a gentle mother was
busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year
- the day on which the Christ child was to come and bring the
gifts on Christmas Eve. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the
spiders had been banished from their cozy corner in the ceiling.
To avoid the housewife's busy cleaning, they finally fled to the
farthest corner of the forgotten attic. It was Christmas Eve at
last; the tree was decorated, and the children delighted. But the
poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be
present for the Christ Child's visit. But the oldest and wisest spider
suggested that perhaps they could peep through the crack in the
door and see Him. Silently they crept out of their attic, and across
the floor to wait in the crack on the threshold. Suddenly, the door
opened a wee bit, and quickly the spiders sneaked into the room.
The tree towered so high they couldn't see the ornaments on top.
In fact, their eyes were so small they could see only one ornament
at a time. They scurried up the truck, out along each branch, filled
with a happy wonder at the glittering beauty. Every place they went
they left a trail of dusty, grey web. When at last they had inspected
every fit of the Christmas tree, it was shrouded in a dusty grey of
spider webs. The Christ Child smiled as he thought of the happy
spiders seeing His tree. But as he thought of how brokenhearted
the mother would be over the dusty tree, He reached out His hand and
touched the webs and blessed them. They all turned to shimmering,
sparkling silver and gold. The tree glistened in greater beauty
than ever before.
Ever since that time, we have hung tinsel on our Christmas trees,
and according to the legend, it has been a custom to include a
spider among the decorations on the tree.