Legend Of Robin

The little red-breasted, cheerful robins, often called the Christmas robins, indicate the season of sun and spring. This, rather ordinary, dull brown bird holds such tremendous importance to Christmas that the legend of the robin is unknown to none. Robins are known for having shared the holy stable of Bethlehem, with Jesus' family, when the other animals chose not to respond to Mary's constant appeals for company. It is believed that this bird used its soft, yet strong, breast feathers to re-ignite a fire from vanishing sparks so that baby Jesus could stay warm. Apparently, while working up the dying fire, the robin got too close to the fire and burnt his breast feathers. The red breasts of robins are thus associated to the self-less service they provided. These colorful birds are regarded as the traditional symbol of UK and can often be found patterned on greeting cards and gift wrappers.

The Story Of The Christmas Robin
The Christmas night was extremely cold and a cold breeze blew constantly into the stable where Mother Mary lay with her infant, Jesus. The fire in the stable, the only source of heat for the baby, was about to go off and all that Mary could do was call the surrounding animals for help. She asked the sleeping ox, lazy donkey, horse and the sheep, but they were either of no use or just refused to help. Suddenly, Mary heard the flapping sound of wings. A robin had heard Mother Mary's cry for help and had flown to the stable to help her out. The robin flapped his wings hard at the dying embers of fire until the fire was rekindled and became bright red. He fanned continuously, flapping hard so that the fire never went out and kept the baby warm. To ensure that the fire stayed alive, the robin used his beak and dropped some dry sticks in the fire. This caused the fire to rise abruptly and it burnt the breast of the bird. Despite the burns that he received, the bird didn't bother and continued fanning so that the infant could be kept warm for long enough to sleep comfortably. Mother Mary heartily thanked the robin for his efforts and tenderly looked at his breast that was now red with the burns and blessing him for his deed of valor and selflessness.

Facts