This Is What It Means When You See a Spider Ornament on a Christmas Tree

Spiders might seem like a symbol specific to Halloween, but the eight-legged creatures actually play an important part in another holiday. When we recently reported on the history of the pickle ornament, some readers shared that they also practice the tradition of the Christmas spider.

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Another folk tale from Europe, this one has been attributed to various countries, most often Ukraine and Germany. In one version of the Christmas spider story, a widowed mother and her children were too poor to decorate their Christmas tree, so friendly spiders spun elaborate webs on the evergreen. When the family awoke on Christmas morning, they opened the curtains and the sunshine hit the webs, turning them silver and gold (sometimes said to be the origin of tinsel). The family had good fortune from then on. Other iterations claim it was Santa Claus or Jesus himself who transformed the webs so that they wouldn't upset the mother.

It's likely the legend is linked to the idea that spiders are lucky. Whatever the real reason, several sources including the Evening Standard report that Ukrainians decorate their Christmas trees with spider-shaped ornaments (often made of beautiful beads) to this day. Shop these striking spider ornaments to start the tradition in your own home this year.