CULLMAN – Spiders in your Christmas tree? Sounds like something you’d want to avoid. But this reporter learned something new this holiday season.
A couple weeks ago I attended an arts and crafts show at the Cullman Civic Center. As I weaved in and out of the many vendor booths, I saw a lot of creative and colorful goodies. After browsing for about an hour, I was making my way to the door when I noticed a small room to the side, filled with crafts that I had missed. I was immediately drawn to a table with a small Christmas tree. The tree was covered with spider ornaments. Each little spider was different and made from various types of beads. Like a little kid, I had to touch each one of those beautiful spiders!
Before long, the sweet grandmotherly woman behind the table began talking to me about her spider tree. She spoke with a British accent, and the more we talked the more I learned. She was born in England and moved to the United States many years ago. Now living in Moulton, she makes stuffed animals – and spider Christmas ornaments to sell around the holidays.
“Tell her the story that goes along with your spiders,” smiled the man in the booth next to hers.
She looked at me and grinned, then plucked a spider from the little tree and began her tale.
“Long ago, on Christmas Eve, a mother prepared for a visit from Christ. She cleaned and scrubbed her humble home, and carefully decorated the tree. When all was quiet, the little spiders that had been swept away crept back in to see the tree. They crawled on every branch, admiring each ornament.
“Alas, when they finished climbing, the tree was draped with cobwebs! Christ smiled when he saw the happy spiders, but he knew the mother would be heartbroken over the shrouded tree. So, he turned the webs into silver and gold, and the tree was even more beautiful.”
After she finished, all I could do was stand there and smile at the lovely little critters that covered her tiny tree. What an interesting tale she had shared with me. Believe it or not, it was one I had never heard before. Then, the next thing I know, the woman told me to pick out a spider of my own; she said I could have it for free.
I picked the spider ornament that had originally caught my eye, thanking the kind lady profusely. She grinned and placed my special gift into a little white box and wished me a Merry Christmas. The box had The Legend of the Christmas Spider glued into the bottom, and once I got home, I read over it several times.
I wondered about the story’s origins and how in the world I had never heard it before. I began to research the legend and found out some pretty interesting things.
The Legend of the Christmas Spider is a European folk tale which supposedly explains the origin of tinsel on Christmas trees. It is not known where the folk tale originated, but it is believed to have come from Germany or Ukraine. Did Cullman’s early German settlers tell the story to their children during those first, rustic Christmases?
The story is most prevalent in Ukraine, where small, spider-shaped ornaments, made from paper and wire, are traditionally part of Christmas tree decorations. In Germany, Poland and Ukraine, finding a spider or a spider's web on a Christmas tree is considered good luck. They also decorate Christmas trees with artificial spider webs.
I love the Legend of the Christmas Spider and I love my little spider-shaped ornament. Special thanks to Ms. Sheila of Sheila’s Critters who gave me such a special treasure that day. If you would like to know more about the legend or want to purchase a Christmas spider of your own, contact Ms. Sheila at 256-974-0424. Sheila’s Critters is located at 930 County Road 243 in Moulton
