Legend of the Christmas Spider

According to ‘mein Grossvater’ (my grandfather), my family’s German folklore aficionado: A long time ago a mother was cleaning her house for Christmas. Spiders fled up the attic to escape her broom. On Christmas Eve, the spiders slowly came down for a peek. “Oh what a beautiful tree!” said the spiders. In excitement, they scurried up and out along each branch. They were filled with happiness as they climbed amongst the glittering beauty. But alas! By the time they were done, the tree was shrouded in their dusty gray web. When Kris Kringle came with gifts for the children and saw the tree covered with spider webs, he smiled because he saw how happy the spiders were. He knew, though, how heartbroken the mother would be if she saw the tree covered in spider webs. So, he turned the webs to strands of silver tinsel, and the tree was more beautiful than before. That’s the story behind the use of tinsel on Christmas trees. Finding a spider or spider’s web on a Christmas tree is considered good luck in parts of Eastern Europe, including the Ukraine and Germany. My German ancestors adorned their Christmas trees with glass ornaments in the shape of a spider known as ‘kleine Spinnen,’ literally "little spiders.” They also decorated Christmas trees with artificial spider webs. The tradition of using tinsel came to be because of this story. Don’t you agree? Shouldn’t every Christmas tree have a Christmas spider in its branches? Little fairy kerchiefs Spread on the limbs to dry; Little fairy hammocks Swinging in branches high. Spider of gorgeous hue, Should I steal your glue-pot, What would the Christmas fairies do?