The Christmas Spider

In a small cottage deep in the woods, a poor widow and her children prepared for Christmas. They brought in a tiny fir tree, but they had no money for ribbons or sweets to decorate it. With heavy hearts, the family went to bed on Christmas Eve, leaving the tree bare. High in the corners of the room, the house spiders had watched the family’s labor with great curiosity. Once the house was silent, they scurried down to investigate. They crawled over every branch, spinning intricate, delicate webs from top to bottom. When the Christ Child arrived later that night to bless the home, he saw the tree covered in grey spider webs. Knowing the mother would be saddened to find spiders on her tree, but touched by the spiders' desire to participate, he reached out and brushed the silk. Instantly, the grey threads turned into shimmering silver and gold. On Christmas morning, the family woke to find their humble tree transformed into a glittering masterpiece, sparking the tradition of tinsel.