Why are Christmas trees decorated with spiders and cobwebs?

When you talk about Christmas tree decorations, the ones that immediately come to mind are angels, bells, balls, gifts, snowflakes, wreaths, etc. But have you ever noticed spiders and cobwebs hanging from the Christmas Tree. If you have, worry not! In fact, in some folklores, spiders actually form an integral part of Christmas and thus are aptly given a space on the tree.

How did spiders and cobwebs become a part of Christmas tree decorations?

Christmas, as a festival, has several traditions. Not only do these traditions differ slightly from family to family, but also, from community to community. For instance, according to an old folklore prevalent in the Eastern European region, especially in Ukraine, spiders and cobwebs during Christmas are actually symbols of good luck.

As the legend goes, a widow and her children wanted to celebrate the festival but did not have enough to arrange for traditional Christmas Tree and décor. Instead, they decorated it with the patterned spider webs. When they woke up on Christmas morning, they realised that the very same spider webs that they had used to decorate the tree has turned into silver and gold, bringing the family good luck and prosperity. Due to this folklore, in many communities, spiders are a symbol of good luck while cobwebs mean hope, blessings and prosperity. Thus, in many places, but largely in Ukraine, you might see spiders hanging from cobwebs on the Christmas Tree. These are often glittery denoting the gold and silver transformations.

Another folk lore goes that when Jesus was born on a very cold and chilly night, a spider has woven the first blanket to keep him warm. Thus, spiders are a symbol of care, protection and luck.

Interestingly, this might seem rather odd in many places as spiders are seen as dwellers of abandoned places, they give the creeps to people and are often associated with bad luck. Hence, outside some European communities and mostly all around the world, spiders do not form a part of the Christmas traditions.

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