A long time ago, a mother prepared for Christmas Eve. She cleaned and scrubbed her home, chasing the spiders from the living room with her broom. The spiders fled to the attic and listened to the excitement below as the Christmas tree was put up and decorated. When all was quiet again, the little spiders crept back downstairs to see the beautiful tree. They were filled with happiness as they crawled along every branch, admiring the glittering beauty of each ornament. But alas, by the time they had finished climbing through the tree, it was completely draped with their intricate, delicate webs.​  When the Christ child came, He smiled as He looked upon the happy little spiders.  However, He knew the mother would be heartbroken when she saw the shrouded tree. So, He reached out and touched the webs and, blessing them, turned them into silver and gold. Now, the Christmas tree sparkled and shimmered and was even more beautiful than before.

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Павучки, or "little spider" is an Eastern European Christmas tradition, most prevalently found in the Ukraine.  Though the house is to cleaned from top to bottom, and every speck of dust swept away in preparation for Christmas, any spider web discovered at Christmas time must be left undisturbed throughout the holidays.  Spiders and their webs are symbols of good luck and now children adorn their trees with павучки ornaments and tinsel! 

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