The Legend Of The Christmas Spider

nce upon a time, long ago, a

gentle mother was busily cleaning the house

for the most wonderful day of the year....
The day on which the Christ child came to

bless the house.Not a speck of dust was left.
Even the spiders had been banished from their

cozy corner in the ceiling to avoid the

housewife'sbusy cleaning. They finally fled

to the farthest corner of the attic.

T'was the Christmas eve at last!
The tree was decorated and waiting for the

children to see it. But the poor spiders were

frantic,for they could not see the tree, nor be

present for the Christ child's visit. But the

oldest and wisest spider suggested that

perhaps they could peep through the crack in

the door to see him. Silently they crept out of

their attic,down the stairs, and across the floor

to wait in the crack in the threshold. Suddenly,
the door opened a wee bit and quickly the

spiders scurried into the room. They must see
the tree closely, since their eyes weren't

accustomed to the brightness of the room...
so the crept all over the tree, up and down,

over every branch and twig and saw every one
of the pretty things. At last they satisfied

themselves completely of the Christmas

tree beauty.

But alas!! Everywhere they went they had

left their webs, and when the little Christ

child came to bless the house he was dismayed.

He loved the little spiders, for they were God's
creatures too, but he knew the mother,

who had trimmed the tree for the little children,
wouldn't feel the same, so He touched the

webs and they all turned to sparkling,
shimmering, silver and gold!

Ever since that time, we have hung tinsel

on our christmas trees, and according to

the legend, it has been a custom to include

a spider among the decorations on the tree.