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The Legend of the Christmas Spider

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017   |   POSTED BY MICAH GARTMAN

 
     
   
  © Copyright 2012 Diana Gunning. All Rights Reserved.  
     
 

Today is a big day for Sydney Sue: it's his 4th birthday. Happy Birthday, little buddy!

Sydney Sue's autumn has been mostly unexciting. There was a brief bit of peril when we received a visit from Hurricane Harvey—and, in true tarantula fashion, Sydney Sue slept right through it. Our house and neighborhood were untouched by the floods but friends only a few miles away were submerged in several feet of water when the Army Corps of Engineers opened the flood gates of the two reservoirs on Houston's west side. After five days of perpetual rain, the sun finally broke through the clouds. Even Sydney Sue thought that was an event worth investigating:

 

 

 

     
   
     
 

With the holiday season now upon us, I thought I'd share a story from old Europe I recently read:

 
     
 

The Legend of the Christmas Spider

Once 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's busy 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 they 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.

 
     
 

Merry Christmas to you all. And remember:

Be nice to spiders :)

 
     
   
  © Copyright 2017 njulius. All Rights Reserved.  
     
 
 
     
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