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Friday, December 6, 2013

Bottle Cap Christmas Spider Ornament-And the Legend of the Christmas Spider

Is everyone familiar with the Legend of the Christmas Spider? If not it's a nice story and I've added it below. This easy ornament is a great kids craft and a variation of the Bottle Cap Spiders Tutorial I posted HERE at Halloween. They would be a perfect handmade gift with a copy of the legend added.
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The only thing I did differently from the Halloween spider is I glued an additional bead on as his feet,
covered the cap in gold tinsel glitter and used tinsel pipe cleaners.
I think Christmas calls for a little extra sparkle, don't you?
Have a happy day:@)

The Legend of the Christmas Spider
Once upon a time, long ago in Germany, there lived a poor widow and her children in a tiny cottage. The mother had no money to buy her children a lot of gifts but she so wanted them to have a tree. After putting the kids to bed she went and cut a tree down and placed it in the house and decorated it with fruits, nuts, and cookies she had made. The gentle mother then busily cleaned her house, in preparation for the most wonderful tradition of the year, the coming of the Christ Child, bringing gifts for Christmas Eve. She then fell into her bed exhausted and worried that her children would not have a happy Christmas.

Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had fled their corner and gone to the attic. At last the time drew near. The tree was decorated and the children were delighted. The poor spiders however were frantic!! They could not see the tree. The oldest and wisest spider suggested they creep out of the attic and peek through a crack in the threshold. Soon, the door opened and they quickly sneaked into the room. The tree towered so high, they could only see one ornament at the top, so they scurried along each branch, admiring the glittering beauty. Every place they went, they left a train of dusty gray web, until finally the entire tree was covered with it.

When the Christ Child saw this, he was happy that the spiders had seen the tree, but, he knew the mother would be broken hearted about it's dusty gray appearance. He reached out and touched the webs and blessed them and they all turned a lovely shimmering gold and silver. On Christmas morning the family awoke to such a lovely sight and all were happy. A beautiful sight to behold, a tree glittering in tinsel. And so, it became a custom of the Christmas season to decorate their trees with tinsel and to have a spider among the other decorations on the tree.


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18 comments:

  1. I love that story. I have never heard it before. Now I know why my mother-in-law always puts that silky white fake snow type stuff in the nooks and crannies of her Christmas trees. It looks like webs. Although she is Latvian they grew up with many of the same traditions as the Russians and the Germans.

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  2. This is such a sweet story, Lynn! I'm very afraid of spiders (have been since I was a child), but this is a nice legend. I love how it explains our use of tinsel on the Christmas trees. You did a wonderful job with your ornament; it looks so real nestled into the tree branches. :)

    Thanks for sharing your creativity and the story of the Christmas spider. I hope you have a great weekend!

    Hugs,

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  3. I don't like spiders but this one is adorable. I never thought I'd say that. Sweet story too!

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  4. I was not aware of the spider story. I enjoyed reading and seeing your Christmas spider.

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  5. Those are friendly looking spiders. I wouldn't mind one "sitting down beside me". I had not heard the legend of the spider. Thanks for sharing.

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  6. I like your sparkly spider and maybe I will make one from your instructions. Our tree has two spiders already and I included a different version of the spider Christmas story in the book I co-authored, A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts: Stories to Warm Your Heart and Tips to Simplify Your Holiday." Love that humble spider.

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  7. That is the only kind of spider I like! lol

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  8. I think I like your spider better than the real thing!

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  9. Thanks for sharing this story with us. Have a great weekend.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

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  10. You are always coming us with something clever. Thanks for sharing!

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  11. Dear Lynn,
    this is a wonderful Christmas story. I had never heard it before but always wondered why we hang this tinsel in the tree. Thats the nicest reason I can imagine. Your tinsel spider is so pretty that it is a lovely ornament, too.
    Thank you for the touching story.
    Best greetings, Johanna

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  12. Wonderful story and wonderful spidey!

    xo

    Sheila

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  13. I do not remember hearing this story before. Thank you for sharing.
    I prefer your spiders.

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  14. I love your sparkly spider and thank you for sharing the legend, too. Hope you're staying warm and cozy!!

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  15. Hello Lynn, I have missed your posts but I am back. Your spider is so cute. The story is charming and I have never heard this before. I admit spiders are not my favorite subject but this was cute.
    Wishing you a happy weekend.
    xo, Jeanne

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  16. Lynn, I didn't know the legend of the spider and tinsel! Thanks for sharing it and your festive, sparkly spider. If you can't gild the lily or spider at Christmas, when can you? I wanted to tell you how much fun my little bird (and I :) have had flying back in forth from my potting shed to the table. Thanks again!

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  17. So fun and sparkly! Perfect for the tree! Have a great weekendj~

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Thank you for stopping by-enjoy your day!