The Legend of The Christmas Spider
On Christmas Eve, a long time ago, a mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year, the day we celebrate the birth of the Christ child, Christmas day. They had fled to the farthest corner of the attic. The Christmas tree was beautifully decorated. The poor spiders were frantic for they could not see the tree, nor be present for Sant
a's impending visit. Then the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could wait until everyone went to bed and then get a closer look. When the house was dark and silent, the spiders crept out of their hiding place. When they neared the Christmas tree, they were delighted with the beauty of it. The spiders crept all over the tree, up and down over the branches and twigs and saw every one of the pretty things. The spiders loved the Christmas tree. All night long they danced in the branches, leaving them covered with spider webs. When Santa Clause came with the gifts for the children, he saw the tree covered in the spider webs and smiled to see how happy the spiders were, but he knew the mother who had worked so hard to make everything perfect, would not be pleased when she saw what the spiders had done. So with love in his heart and a smile on his lips, Santa reached out and gently touched the spider webs. The webs started to sparkle and shine! They had all turned into shimmering silver and gold. And so, the tradition of hanging tinsel on the tree begun. It has also become a custom to include a spider among the decorations on the Christmas tree.
