Spiders on St. Lucy's Day (an Advent tale)


I'd like to tell you a story.

Our story begins with a passel of boy children reminding their busy mother about the great upcoming feast of Santa Lucia.  (Said children speak much more eloquently in stories.)  

"And in one morning hence, we shall have the Santa Lucia bread!  I cannot thee wait!" she overheard them excitedly whisper to each other while building and tumbling their blocks.

"Oh, right.  THAT." thought the somewhat harried mother.
She had a birthday to plan for and a house to decorate and gifts to make.  The feast had been forgotten amidst all the other necessary goings on in her mind during the Advent season.  
But, she told herself, I can do this.  It's not really that much time spent, after all, and they would be so disappointed otherwise. 

And so she did.  

The night before the feast, she proofed the dough and made the dough and raised the dough and braided the dough and baked the dough, which sounds like a lot more work than it actually was.  (But she'd like her husband and children at least to think so.)  Early she rose the next morning to pour on the glaze and sprinkle the berries and light the wreath.  She admired her work.  It really was the prettiest one she had ever made and had turned out well.  

Thank you, Lord, that it all worked, she thought.  


She made her way up the stairs carefully carrying the beautiful pastry to the bedrooms for the waking of the children (which, of course, had already occurred at least an hour before this point but no matter.  Tradition.).  

She sang and greeted first the younger children who scrambled out of beds and followed her to the older boy folk.  Carefully she placed the pastry tray on the floor beside the sweet little Christmas tree that the older children had purchased the previous day to decorate the room.  Such a sweet moment, she had time to think, remember this.  The younger children had trailed behind and the older children now wiggled out of their beds to admire the beautiful lit cake set in the middle of the room.


It was right at that moment that two minions of the evil one long legged spiders came scrambling out of the tree, their hundreds of eyes focused on the beautiful cake.  The beautiful cake that was meant to be a light in the darkness and celebrate the life of one of His holy ones.  Evil indeed.  In the span of a few seconds, spiders charged, pastry afire was was thrown aside (very nearly igniting the coverlet), simultaneous shrieks and laughter rang out, children ran and jumped, and one of the despicable creatures managed to RUN RIGHT ACROSS THE BEAUTIFUL CAKE.

And in those dark moments before the rising of the sun on the feast of Santa Lucia, arachnid lives were ended.


 And cake was still eaten. 

Because satan doesn't win.


Not when there's cake anyway.

The end.

(Sorry for no visuals for the {funny} or {real}.  I was a bit preoccupied preventing the spider-induced housefire and scouring the room for more of the devil creatures.)

Wishing you a peaceful, spider-free rest of Advent.

9 comments

  1. Awesome! Reminds me of Jonathon Edwards "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
    God" with all the spider imagery.

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    1. Ha, I'll have to read that! This was all pretty tongue in cheek ;)

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  2. Good triumphs evil stories are so encouraging!! Good for you that you went the extra mile, although no one would have faulted you for forgetting. Have a wonderful rest of your Advent season.

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    1. You too, Jennifer! Here's to no more spiders until at least Lent ;)

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  3. I love this post so very much. Every time I have moments like when you hope to remember something, I have a quiet prayer that God will let me relive it in heaven. God Bless your home!

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  4. Oh you are too funny! Yes life is not picture perfect, we take the memories which ever way we can get them.
    2015 for your boys will forever be the year they shaved tonsures on their heads and they battled the spiders for the St Lucia bread. Holiness triumphs!

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  5. Oh I love how your boys enjoy celebrating St. Lucia Day! Have they ever been star boys?

    Spiders and roaches always freak me out!

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    1. No, they haven't! And I've never actually worn the bread either...I still can't figure out how that would work! :)

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  6. Hurrah!!! A great ending to a fabulous story! Your wonderful bread looks so magical. Great post.

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