The Ledgend of the Christmas Spider 2011

A tale from Germany


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.