Posts by Pat:
A Spider Christmas Legend…
There are many versions of this folk legend about the Christmas spiders (most prevalent in Western Ukraine and Germany) where small ornaments in the shape of a spider are traditionally part of the Christmas decorations. The legend explains the orgin of tinsel on our Christmas trees.
The legend goes…
The day before Christmas, the resident spiders in the small house in Germany hid in the attic to avoid the house cleaning. The family was poor and did the best they could in decorating their tree.
When the spiders crept downstairs that night they saw the carefully decorated Christmas tree. They loved it and crawled about in the branches, leaving the branches covered with webs.
When Father Christmas arrived, he came up with a wonderful solution for the now cobweb-covered tree. He turned all the webs into beautiful shimmering silver strands.
And when the family saw it, they realized that they had everything they truly needed. They had each other and that was more than enough!
From that day on, tinsel became a treasured ornament for trees all over the world. Those who know the legend make sure they give thanks to those industrious spiders and hang a beautiful silver or gold spider ornament in a prominent location on their tree.
I love the tinsel on MY Christmas tree, though I don’t have any spiders on it! So much so, that I carefully collect the tinsel from my tree every year for the next year’s Christmas tree.
And…I’ve done it for over 20 years. (Yes, I know my family thinks I’m nuts, but they just don’t make that kind of tinsel any more!)
Do you and your family have any special traditions that YOU love?
Kids’ questions to God
Ever wonder what kids wonder about? Here’s what some brave youngsters asked God! Dear God, My grandpa says you were around when he was a little boy. How far back do you go? Love Dennis They definitely have some questions about family! Dear God, Did you really mean do unto others as they do unto […]
A lesson from Thanksgiving
One of the lessons of Thanksgiving is that we eat too much! We eat until we’re full, experiencing the sensation of too much. We confuse our desire for that feeling of ‘full,’ with the feeling of ‘enough.’ Even though enough doesn’t feel like full, could’t we make that be okay? Black Friday teaches us still […]
a jigsaw guide to life?
Why a jigsaw guide to life? Well, it’s not too difficult to look at life like a giant jigsaw puzzle. This world is broken. Life is confusing. We’re surrounded by all these pieces and not sure what to do with them. Jigsaw puzzles can be exceptional teachers. They impart patience, determination, stamina, self-control and powerful […]
A paradox for you to consider…
Theseus was an ancient hero of Greek mythology, the supposed founder of Athens, and the conqueror of various monsters, including the Minotaur. According to Plutarch in Life of Theseus, “ The ship wherein Theseus and the youth of Athens returned had thirty oars, and was preserved by the Athenians down even to the time of […]
It’s YOUR hour!
Would you rather have your hour at the start of the day or the end of the day? After all 6am looks very different from 11pm! When you got that “extra” hour today did you use it or just sleep in? Actually setting the clock back as we did this morning gives us a potential […]
Lessons from Mother Nature?
Mother Nature is an effective teacher when we are willing to learn. By observing her cycles we come to understand how life dances within us. The tide reaches the power of ebbing and flowing, the moon that of waxing and waning. Both show that the expression of fullness and of lessening are two parts of […]
What are you worth?
There are people who can live their whole lives with the belief that they are worth nothing. Whether or not it is because of the message they received from their parents or friends, these people don’t know what their true value is and it makes them doubt their own skills and even the things they […]
What can you learn?
It may seem like a bit of a stretch to say there are life lessons to be learned from that jack-o’-lantern you carve for Halloween, but see what you think about these! (even if your pumpkin might be less dramatic) 1. Get inside-We need to be willing to open ourselves up to the possibilities ahead. […]
Are you a cook or a chef?
It may seem as if these words are interchangable: after all both individuals may wear a chef’s hat or coat, work in a kitchen and prepare food. However, every chef was once a cook who went on to learn new skills and create new combinations that cooks can then follow. As Wolfgang Puck, the celebrity […]