The questions most children ask are:  Why do we do something? Why do we pray? Why do we believe in God? Why do we decorate a Christmas tree with tinsel?

While the answers to the first few questions are tricky, there is a very interesting legend connecting the decorating of a X’mas tree with tinsel to Ukrainian/Eastern European origins. Here’s how the story goes.

Once upon a time, there lived a poor but hardworking widow. She and her children lived in a small hut, happy to get whatever their hard work gave them. They never really had the means to buy a X’mas tree. 

One fine summer day, a pine cone fell through an opening in their roof and took root in their hut. By early December, the pine cone had grown into a beautiful pine tree, a perfect Christmas tree. But the poor widow had no money for decorations. 

In addition to her children, a family of spiders lived in the widow’s little hut. Hearing the widow’s sad voice as she spoke to her children about the lack of resources for decorations, the spider family decided to help.

Over the next few days, the spiders’ family spun a web around the pine tree, creating a beautiful design. The widow didn’t notice it until the miracle on Christmas morning.

When she opened the window to let in the sunlight, the first rays that touched the web turned it into gold and silver threads. The widow gasped in delight. She and her children had the best Christmas ever.

Author’s Note:

From that day on, tinsel is an essential part of the X’mas tree decorations. And in Ukraine, even today, spider figurines are an important element placed on the tree. In fact, many believe a spider in their house during Christmas is a sign of imminent good luck. There are similar stories for the use of tinsel in German legends too. 

And since I did not find anything that could fit a story from our puranas and itihaasas, I chose to use a non-Indian story for X. 

This post is a part of BlogchatterA2Z Challenge 2026

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