Christmas Short Stories
Spider Legends
The Legend of the Christmas Spider and TinselFrom that day forward, it became a tradition for many families to add tinsel to their trees as a way to show their gratitude to God for the many gifts he has bestowed upon them!
Once upon a time, there was a poor widow living in her tiny home with her young children. One day, the children discovered a cast-off tree and pulled it into their home for the holidays. The kids were so excited to have their very own Christmas tree, and were so upset when their mother explained that they could barely afford food for dinner for the evening, much less decorations for the tree. The children understood, so they wiped away their tears as they climbed into bed that Christmas Eve.
The tree stood bare in the corner, and the widow shook her head sadly as she herself turned in for the night. But household's spiders had seen the sadness of the children and their mother, so they climbed all over the tree that night, leaving intricate webs in their wake. Early that Christmas morning, the children called out to the widow, "Mother, mother! Come and see what has happened to the tree! It is beautiful!" Their mother rushed in to find that during the bitter night while they slept, spiders had spun magical glittery garlands all across the tree’s barren branches.
As the family stood in wonder staring at the beauty before them they realized that they had everything they truly needed. They had each other, and that was more than enough! As their prayers of gratitude for their blessings reached God’s ears, he reached down and touched their tree, turning the dusty webs into magical strands of gold and silver, and the grateful family never wanted for their needs again!
–Author Unknown
Christmas Short Stories
About Spiders
Spider Legend from the Ukraine
A folk legend version from the Ukraine)
There once was a widow, who lived in a small hut. One day a pinecone dropped on the floor and it took root.
Her children were excited that they would have a tree for Christmas. All summer long they made plans on how they would decorate the tree. They were very poor, so poor that they did not have anything to decorate the tree with.
The widow went to bed on Christmas Eve knowing that the tree would not be decorated. Early on Christmas morning, the woman was awakened by her children. “Mother, mother wake up and see the tree it is beautiful!” The mother arose and saw that during the night a spider had spun a web around the tree.
The youngest child opened the window to the first light of Christmas Day. As the shafts of the sun crept along the floor, it touched one of the threads of the spider web and instantly the web was changed into gold and silver. And from that day forward the widow never wanted for anything.
[text copied from Museum of Science and Industry Archives]
Christmas Short Story
A German Tale About Spiders And Tinsel
If you’ve ever gazed at the beautiful tinsel sparkling on your Christmas Tree and wondered who came up with idea of decorating the tree in this way, wonder no longer. According to German legend, it signifies a Christmas miracle from many years ago.
The day before Christmas, as the small house in Germany underwent its Christmas Eve cleaning, the resident spiders, not wanting to be swept up with the broom, hid in the attic.
When nightfall came and all were settled into bed, the spiders crept downstairs. To their amazement, in the middle of the living room was a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree.
They were so excited that they ran all over the tree. They scurried up the trunk and leapt from branch to branch. Unfortunately they had left their mark. A gray spider web now covered the whole tree.
When Weihnachtsmann, also known as Father Christmas, arrived he was amused to see the tree covered in spider webs. Now he faced a dilemma. The family would be disappointed to see their beautiful tree all wrapped in the webs, but the spiders were so pleased with their handiwork that he did not have the heart to take it down. What could he do? He thought and thought and came up with a wonderful solution. He turned all the webs into beautiful shimmering silver strands.
When the family awoke on Christmas Morning they ran to the living room and saw their tree sparking and glittering in the morning sun. Their delight was unsurpassed. They had never seen such a beautiful tree. Only the mother knew that a true Christmas miracle had occurred overnight.
From that day on tinsel became a treasured ornament for trees all over the world. Those who know the legend make sure that they give thanks to the industrious spiders by hanging a beautiful silver or gold spider ornament in a prominent location on their tree.
[Text from Essortment]
