Christmas, the beloved holiday that is celebrated today by around 2 billion people in 160 countries, has its roots in being started by early Christians during the Roman empire. Christmas was largely celebrated with liturgy and church services during this time. As Christianity grew and the Roman empire expanded to conquer new areas, so too did the demographics of people who celebrated Christmas, which became increasingly diverse.
As the holiday spread to new regions and peoples, these new cultures would merge with Christmas traditions, creating a blend of traditions from Christianity’s roots and pagan beliefs. One of the greatest examples of this phenomenon is the invention of Santa Claus – who is a blend of Germanic pagan beliefs (with many similarities to the Norse god, Odin) and Christian tradition (being closely related, and even identified as St. Nicholas, a bishop from the 4th century).
While Santa Claus, gift-giving, and Christmas tree decorating, are all commonly practiced Christmas traditions, you may not have heard of these bug-themed traditions. You read that right, in many cultures where Christmas was introduced, insect & arachnid themed traditions found their way into the popular holiday. We will explore these interesting traditions below, hopefully they will give you some niche, obscure Christmas trivia knowledge for the upcoming holiday gatherings!
Table of Contents:
1. Legend of the Christmas Spider
2. The Christmas Wasp
3. Celtic Honeybees
4. South African Christmas Caterpillars
5. Australian Christmas Beetles
Final Thoughts
1. Legend of the Christmas Spider
The Legend of the Christmas Spider has its origins in Ukraine, where spiders are revered around Christmastime as harbingers of good luck. The ancient story has multiple versions but all versions follow a poverty-stricken widow and her children.
One version of the story has the widow and her children finding a pinecone and planting it to grow a Christmas tree. As the trees grows, the children become more and more excited about their plans to decorate the tree, much to the lament of the widow who knows they cannot afford Christmas decorations or ornaments for the tree.
Their Christmas wishes are all heard by a spider who lives in the corner of their home. On Christmas Eve, once the family goes to bed, the spider gets to work, spinning fine strands of silk along the tree, creating intricate designs of webs, in lieu of traditional ornaments. On Christmas morning, much to the family’s surprise, they wake to find their tree beautifully decorated in spider webs, glistening in silver & gold with the morning’s sunlight. From there on the widow and her children would never want again.
To this day, spiders are still seen as “good luck” to Ukrainians and around Christmas, they refrain from sweeping away cobwebs, and many of their ornaments include webs or fancy spiders.
2. The Christmas Wasp
There are many stories throughout European folklore that feature a Christmas Wasp legend, and eventually the stories were collected by the Brothers Grimm. In their book, a farmer is able to trick the Devil into putting his hand into a wasp’s nest, believing it to be the nest of bee who creates a marvelous (and magical) honey. Upon putting his hand into the nest, the Devil becomes attacked by a swarm of wasps and flees all the way back to his domain.
The farmer, quite amused with his trick, tries to see if he can trick the King of the Wasps into granting him a favor. The Wasp King, already very angry from being disturbed once, instead stings the farmer and chases him away.
As time went on, the Wasp King morphed into the Christmas Wasp in British folklore and every Christmas season the Christmas Wasp would roam the countryside, stinging those who were deemed “naughty” and deserved punishment; so parents would warn children to be good, or else!
To this day, only a few areas in North Europe and the British Isles still celebrate this tale. Some do so by setting out wasp cakes, known as “Hvepekager”, for the Christmas Wasp, which are colored black & yellow to symbolize his colors.
3. Celtic Honeybees
Throughout Celtic mythology, bees are regarded as messengers between worlds, and were associated with wisdom. When Christianity came to the British Isles, Christmas traditions merged with some Celtic beliefs, and thus bees became a part of Christmas for some Celts.
Every Christmas Eve, it is said the bees awake from their winter slumber to “sing” to Jesus Christ (or should I say hum?). As legend would have it, only those who have lived a “blameless” life can hear the bees’ song. Nowadays, ornate honeybee ornaments remain a popular decoration for Christmas trees.
4. South African Christmas Caterpillars
The Christmas Caterpillar gets its name from the “ugly Christmas sweater” markings and the fact it is a delicacy served on Christmas in South Africa, where it is native to. The Christmas Caterpillar is the larva of the Pine Emperor Moth and is an edible caterpillar that is an important food source for the Bantu peoples, as they are protein-rich. On Christmas day, the caterpillars are deep-fried and served as an appetizer, with many saying that they taste similar to tea.
5. Australian Christmas Beetles
Australian Christmas Beetles are unique to this list as they are not from a tradition or ancient legend, rather they simply amass large swarm and appear around Christmastime, in New South Wales. Dubbed by locals as, “Nature’s Christmas decorations”, the beetles swarm around lights, where their metallic bodies change to colorful hues. As their numbers greatly appear around Christmas, the beetles have also been called the “harbingers of Christmas” and many Aussies fondly recall their presence around the holidays.
Sadly, in recent years Christmas Beetle populations have declined due to a variety of factors, like pesticide use & destruction of their habitats. Conservation efforts have been underway to help Christmas Beetles make a comeback, like using organic or natural pest control or abstaining from mowing, to allow for natural grasses to grow higher for food & shelter for the dazzling bugs. Furthermore (and in line with the Christmas spirit) Aussies are encouraged to share fond stories & memories of the Christmas Beetles to younger generations, in the hopes that this species will live on!
Final Thoughts
There are so many interesting and awesome Christmas traditions around the globe!
Do you have a favorite tradition or another Christmas tradition that involves bugs that isn’t on the list? Comment down below or feel free to reach out and share with us directly!
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Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays
-Gage
