Twisted Spiders for All Seasons

The Legend of the Christmas Spider; A German and Ukraine Tradition 

Folktale version by Rebecca O'Keefe, Owner and Creator of Twisted Spiders. 

    One Christmas Eve, a very long time ago, in a tiny cottage house in the woods, a curious little family of spiders left the safety of their attic space and hurried down the stairs to take a close look at all the decorations hung on the Christmas tree. In their haste and excitement, before heading back up to the attic, the little spiders had not realized that they left webs among all the branches of the Christmas tree! 

    Later that night, St. Nicholas arrived with gifts for the children. Seeing all the webs, he felt the joy the spiders experienced, but also thought the lady of the house might not appreciate them, but rather be upset with the webs. So with a swoop of his hand, he magically transformed the webs into beautiful silver strands that we now know as tinsel! 

    This is why it has become a tradition in many homes today to hang a spider on the Christmas tree…as a reminder of the gift of tinsel.

You can hear Rebecca telling this version of the folktale at one of the many events she sells at.

Hang Twisted Spiders from your car mirror. Wear one in your hair. Pin one on your clothing. Put them everywhere!