Re: christmas legend

["Mapstone - Leslie A." <mapstone@UMD5.UMD.EDU>]

I do not know if this is the same legend, but...
I own a book called The Christmas Spider:  a Puppet Play from Poland.  It
has the Nativity story, told as a play, and includes crafts and
activities. It states that the
 spider is good luck because its web kept the Baby Jesus warm.
Hope this helps,
Leslie
mapstone@umd5.umd.edu
Williamsport HS
Wsmpt, MD


The Christmas Spider by Loretta Holz with pictures by Charles Mikolaycak
NY:  Philomel Books, c1980.
ISBN 0-399-20754-X   0-399-61164-9 (lib bdg)

On Mon, 18 Nov 1996, Lou Brewer wrote:

> Help!  One of our teachers found a wonderful Christmas ornament at a local
> arts & crafts fair that is said to be from Germany or the Ukraine.  The
> story that goes along with the spider ornament is called "The Legend of the
> Christmas Spider", and it supposedly originated in Germany and/or the
> Ukraine.  I have searched through all of my sources and have been unable to
> locate any information about this legend.  Does anyone know anything about
> this story.  Supposedly the spiders wanted to see the Christ Child when he
> came to bless a house, and because they were afraid they would be swept
> away as the mother cleaned, they climbed into the attic.  As they peeked
> through the floor, they fell onto the Christmas tree and then spun their
> webs.  When the Christ Child came, he said that the spiders were just as
> important in the world as humans, and so in recognition of them, he turned
> their webs  into gold and silver, and thus "tinsel" for our trees came into
> being.
>
> If anyone knows of a source for this story, please e-mail me.  Thanks so much.
>
> Lou Brewer
> Nickerson Elementary School
> Nickeson, KS
> brewer@southwind.net
>