Christmas is just around the corner, so as part of our yearly tradition, we’re telling one of our favorite insect folktales: the Legend of the Christmas Spider. This Eastern European folktale explains the origin of decorating Christmas trees with tinsel. It is most prevalent in Western Ukraine, where spider ornaments are traditionally used to decorate the tree in honor of the legend.
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Once upon a time, long ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year: Christmas! 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 attic.
At last, it was Christmas Eve. The tree was decorated beautifully, and the children were delighted. But the spiders, banished to the attic, were most unhappy that they could not see the special tree. The oldest and wisest spider suggested the spiders wait until the family fell asleep to sneak down from their attic hideaway to see the tree in all its glory.
Once the family retired to their slumber, the spiders crept silently into the room, one by one. The tree towered so high they could not see the top. In fact, the spiders’ eyes were so small they could only see one ornament at a time. To get a better look, they scurried up the trunk and over every branch. They were filled with joy as they danced among the branches, leaving a trail of silk behind them. By the time they were through climbing and inspecting, the Christmas tree was shrouded in their webs!
When Santa Claus came with the gifts for the children, he saw the tree covered with spider webs. He smiled as he saw how happy the spiders were. But he knew how heartbroken the mother would be if she saw the tree covered with dusty webs. So, with a wave of his hand, he turned the webs to silver and gold.
Hearing the sounds of the family stirring, the tiny creatures deserted the tree and retreated to their attic hideaway. From down below came the sounds of delighted children. The tree was shining with the golden garland in the Christmas Day sun! It sparkled and shimmered and was even more beautiful than before. Ever since then, we have decorated our trees with tinsel and some families even include a spider ornament amongst the branches.