Christmas Tree Spider Legend
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A master gardener friend gave me this spider as a Christmas gift. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)
Christmas Tree Spider Legend
As a fan of E.B. White’s “Charlotte’s Web” it may come as little surprise that I like spiders, even in my Christmas trees. Much like the legend of the Christmas tree pickle, the Christmas tree spider also has its origins in Europe and most likely the Ukraine.
As the legend goes, a widowed mother is too poor to decorate her Christmas tree so friendly spiders spin elaborate webs on the evergreen. When the mother and her family wake on Christmas morning, they open the curtains and sunlight hits the webs, turning them silver and gold. Some say this is where the idea of tinsel was started.
Some other versions claim Santa or Jesus transformed the webs. Nevertheless, tinsel for many years was a staple on many Christmas trees. We also added it to our Christmas tree decorations when we were growing up.
We also each had a cat. One year one of the cats ate the tinsel and spent Christmas at the vet. That was the end of our adventures with tinsel.
One of our Christmas trees when I was growing up covered in tinsel. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins photo)
I haven’t added tinsel to Christmas trees since but I do have a lovely gift spider that makes its home in the evergreen tree.
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What traditions do you include in your holiday decorating?
