A Spider Christmas
Asst. News Editor Rebecca Fulton

The symbol of the Christian crucifix has become second to the symbol of the Christmas tree for a universal representation of Christmas in my opinion. With the Christmas tree being such a relevant symbol to those who celebrate Christmas I find it to be pretty important that one’s tree is not only beautiful in appearance, but it should really represent the owner or owners of a tree. 

It takes a true supporter of the representation of the Christmas tree to traipse into the woods looking for the truly perfect Christmas tree to display in the home. At age 10, this was how my family worked for as long as I could remember. Every year we would all bundle up and set off in search of the tree that would be proudly displayed in our home, carrying all of the ornaments that were held most dear to our hearts. 

Searching for this perfect tree was not only about the tree, but it was really supposed to be family time as well. This usually ended with my sister and me complaining of how cold we were and then bickering over which tree and at what size the perfect tree actually was. For my tenth Christmas, we went in search of a tree pretty late in the season because of various work and school schedules. In our haste we picked out a tree without much observation or consideration. It was not the tree of our dreams, but by no means was a bad tree. Bringing this tree home, we gave it the love and affection that we gave every one of our trees, spreading tinsel, lights and covering it with hand made ornaments on every available branch. Christmas day quickly approached, filling the bottom of the tree with presents galore. 

Between the overworking oven, the fire in the hearth, and the abundance of people in our house, this Christmas night was particularly warm in the house. This warmth happened to spark the hatching of multiple spider egg sacs that were hidden in our beloved Christmas tree that had previously gone unnoticed. When Christmas morning came, my mom was surprised to find thousands of baby spiders encompassing our living room ceiling, along with a luminescent glow surrounding the tree. 

The glow that my mom saw was found to be a thick, giant web that the spiders had spun engulfing the entire tree. Needless to say, my mom, who happens to be terrified of spiders, went completely berserk. This Christmas quickly turned from what was usually an exciting time for everyone in the house, including Christmas carols from the radio and wrapping paper fights, to something much more disturbing—vacuuming countless baby spiders from my beloved presents and ceiling, as well as scraping the thick cast of cobweb from our treasured tree. 

After my mom had vacuumed every inch of the house three or four times, my sister and I were allowed to open our presents, but in the back of our minds, we were expecting to open a package to find more spiders. While we were spared the appearance of anymore spiders, my mom could not forget and forgive Mother Nature’s move into the house.

She quickly decided to trade the fresh scent of pine and the annual family hunt for a tree for an artificial tree that she went out and purchased on Dec. 26. We still use the artificial tree to this day and to be honest I do not regret the move in the least. I have learned to love and embrace the idea of a fake tree; the thought of another infestation just makes me cringe.