Believe it or not, Christmas spiders are a good thing to add to your tree!
What’s a Christmas Spider—and Why Might You Want One on Your Tree?
Published on Dec. 12, 2024
If you’ve ever chopped down your own Christmas tree (or picked up a real one from your local tree lot), you know you might be bringing home more than just yuletide cheer. Creepy crawly bugs like spiders may have settled into your tree’s branches and hopped a ride to your living room—eek! But, in certain parts of the world, a spider in a Christmas tree is actually a good thing, so much so that hanging spider ornaments might be part of your family’s Christmas traditions, yet you might not even know why.
But hold on—a spider? For Christmas? Yes, a spider—and no, we’re not talking about scary spiders you might see around Halloween. We’re talking about Christmas spiders, which, in today’s world, are likely to be sparkling spider ornaments placed on a Christmas tree. But what could spiders have to do with Christmas, exactly? Read on to find out about the legend of the Christmas spider and why you might want to add one to your holiday decor this year.
What is the legend of the Christmas spider?
Nearly all of the legends of the Christmas spider originate in Eastern Europe, likely Ukraine, though the stories are popular in Germany, too. “The Ukrainian “pavuchky,” or spider, is a traditional Christmas decoration and accompanying tale,” says Maria Kennedy, a Rutgers University professor specializing in studying folklore. There are a couple of different Christmas spider stories, though each one sees the spider performing an act of service in what appears to be a Christmas miracle.
The poor family who had nothing to decorate their tree
This is the strongest origin story for the Christmas spider. According to the tale, a poor family living in a small hut grew a pine tree out of the earthen floor of their home to have a Christmas tree. “When Christmas Eve arrived, however, they were too poor to decorate it and so the children went to bed sad,” says Michael Foley, professor of patristics at Baylor University and author of Why We Kiss Under the Mistletoe: Christmas Traditions Explained. “The next morning, they awoke to find that a spider had decorated the tree with cobwebs and that when they opened the window, the sunlight turned the web silver and gold.”
The Holy Family who needed to hide
Another legend of the Christmas spider sees Mary and Joseph fleeing Egypt with an infant Jesus, trying to outrun King Herod’s soldiers. “Frightened, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph hid in a shallow cave, but they could still be easily discovered,” says Foley. “A spider noticed this and quickly spun a web over the entrance, giving the impression that no one had entered the cave in some time. The troops left the cave untouched, and the spider became a symbol for St. Joseph (maybe because they are both protectors of the Holy Family).”
The mother whose husband was off to war
In this version, according to Kennedy’s research, a poor family loses their husband and father as he is drafted to war as a blacksmith for the fighting soldiers. At Christmas time, the mother does all she can to make the holiday special for her children, cooking a small, but traditional dinner, going to Midnight Mass and finding a small tree with her young son to bring home from the forest. She goes to bed on Christmas Eve saddened by the lack of decorations for the family’s tree and missing her husband, wishing that the next year, their tree will be as beautifully decorated as it had been in years past.
Unbeknownst to her, a lucky little spider had been living in their house and saw the tree forlornly undecorated. She decides to spend the night spinning cobwebs all over the tree. The next morning, the children come down from their beds and see the tree sparkling in the morning sun with the cobwebs—just as their father comes home from war.
Why do people hang Christmas spiders on their trees?
So, now that we know the legend of the Christmas spider, why are people hanging spider ornaments on their trees? Well, it’s all to honor these legends, according to Foley. Spiders are generally considered lucky in Ukrainian culture, which is a traditionally agricultural society. “Because spiders eat pests and harmful insects making them beneficial to farmers, they have been seen as special and good luck,” says Chrystyna Prokopovych, curator of the Manor College Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center and Museum. “Finding a spider or even just a spider web on Christmas Eve is considered good luck.”
So while you may not want an actual spider to take up residence in your tree, hanging a beautiful, handmade spider ornament is an homage to the legend of the Christmas spider and a way to bring a bit of luck into your home.
What does tinsel have to do with Christmas spiders?
When we decorate our trees with tinsel, it’s been said that we are recreating the glittering, sparkling webs of the Christmas spider. “Many people say that tinsel is a way to honor the decorating skills of the spider in the story of the poor family,” says Foley.
What are some other lucky Christmas traditions?
Spiders aren’t the only Christmas tradition said to bring luck — these traditions are thought to add a bit of luck to the holiday, too.
Hanging a Christmas pickle
Does your family hide a pickle ornament in the Christmas tree? Well, you’re not the only one! “The Christmas pickle, which originated in the German population of the Midwest in the late nineteenth century, has been gaining popularity in recent years,” Foley says. “A glass pickle ornament is hidden in the Christmas tree, and the first person to find it gets an extra gift or good luck for a year.”
Gifting apples
A relatively new tradition in China, gifting apples and eating them on Christmas Eve is said to bring peace, prosperity, and good luck. The color red has always been associated with prosperity and luck in China, but red apples as lucky Christmas symbols are a newer phenomenon. Besides their auspicious color, apples are tied with Christmas in another way, too—through language. In Mandarin, the term for Christmas Eve is ping an ye, which translates to “peaceful night”; the word “apple” in Mandarin is ping guo, loosely translated as “peace fruit” thereby tying the apple with Christmas.
Stirring up Christmas pudding
In England, the last Sunday before the beginning of Advent (four Sundays before Christmas) is known as Stir-Up Sunday, an annual day set aside to “stir up” Christmas pudding. The Christmas pudding traditionally contains at least 13 ingredients, one for each of Jesus and his disciples, and is stirred by each member of the family, from East to West to symbolize the Wise Men traveling to visit Jesus. Back in the day, some added coins or charms to the Christmas pudding—and the person who found the coin in their portion of Christmas pudding was said to have good luck moving forward.
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Sources:
- Michael Foley, Ph.D, professor of patristics at Baylor University and the author of Why We Kiss Under the Mistletoe: Christmas Traditions Explained.
- Maria Kennedy, professor of American Studies specializing in folklore at Rutgers University
- Chrystyna Prokopovych, curator of the Manor College Ukrainian Heritage Studies Center & Museum
- Eater: Gliding the Apple
- Manor College: Christmas Spiders? Here’s More on a Ukrainian Tradition
- Cider with Maria: The Christmas Spider: A Ukrainian and Polish Tradition
- Historic-UK.com: Stir-Up Sunday
