Do you know the legend of the Christmas Spider? It's a folktale from Germany and Ukraine; it explains the tradition of decorating the tree with tinsel.
Here's a rough approximation...
Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, a mother was busily
cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year: the day on which
the Christ child would come to bless the house. There was not a speck of dust to be seen. Even
the spiders had been banished to the farthest corner of the
attic.
Finally Christmas Eve arrived. The tree was decorated, but the poor spiders couldn't see the tree. Silently they crept out of the attic, down the
stairs, and across the floor. They
climbed all over the tree - up and down, over
every branch and twig - and enjoyed every ornament.
I’ll be honest, I love twinkle lights and tinsel. They remind me of glitter for the house, but I don't use tinsel on my trees because I try to minimize the plastic in our lives. So, this month, in celebration of the Christmas season, my earring twinkles and sparkles...and none of it is plastic.
But alas! Everywhere they went, they had left their webs. And when the little Christ child came to bless the house he was dismayed. He
loved the little spiders, for they were God's creatures too, but he knew the
mother wouldn't feel the
same. So he touched the webs and turned them to sparkling, shimmering,
silver and gold!
Ever since, we have hung tinsel on our Christmas
trees.
The pieces this month are comprised of sterling silver, diamond-cut sterling chains, sterling stardust beads, and faceted gemstones…all handwired…and all one-of-a-kind.
May they bring my subscribers joy during this holiday season and beyond. These are in the mail to the gals this weekend.
