As you're getting ready for Halloween, you probably have some spooky home decor on hand that you didn't realize you could use for Christmas decorations. Did you know that you can actually use your spiders as tree ornaments? Creepy spiders are traditionally associated with October, so you might think that a glimmering spider ornament on a Christmas tree might seem a little out of place. But there's an interesting story behind how those eye-catching decorations became part of the Christmas holiday season. For some people, it's as much a part of their holiday season as making Christmas cookies or hosting a White Elephant party.
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According to Spiderwisdom.com, the legend of the Christmas Spider is an Eastern European folktale originating in Ukraine. The story goes that a poor widow and her young children lived in a barren hut. When a pinecone fell to the dirt floor and began to sprout, the children were excited because it meant they could have a Christmas tree, so the children cared for the little sapling all year long. However, they had no money for ornaments to decorate it, so they went to bed sad on Christmas Eve. In the morning, the tree was covered in spider webs. When the rays of the sun hit the webs, they turned into silver and gold, and the family was never poor again.
In some variations of the tale, the webs are magically changed into silver and gold by either Santa or the baby Jesus. Either way, it's likely that the Christmas spider legend is also the origin of tinsel as a seasonal decoration.
Today, Ukrainians still decorate their trees with a Christmas Spider ornament. Because of this legend, finding cobwebs in your tree on Christmas morning is considered good luck.
Spider Christmas Ornament
If you'd like to start this holiday tradition, this affordable gold spider ornament from Amazon is a great start.
If you want to join the tradition by adding a lovely spider ornament to your tree, you can find affordable ones like the option above at Amazon or at other retailers like Etsy. This holiday ornament is a popular pick for those familiar with the Christmas story and even those interested in starting a new holiday tradition.
Of course, you can always go the DIY route and make a sparkly little spider on your own. Visit YouTube for beaded Christmas spider tutorials. Making DIY ornaments is such an underrated holiday tradition. There's nothing better than putting homemade ornaments on your beautiful tree.
This post was originally published on October 26, 2019.
