Storks have been considered as the symbol of good luck and prosperity since time immemorial. With the passage of time, various legends have been propagated glorifying the importance of these white, long-legged birds. This bird has been referred in the legend of birth of Christ and is revered for the exceptional compassion it showed towards baby Jesus. According to the legend, the stork suffered immense pain in a bid to provide baby Jesus with maximum comfort. It is believed that when baby Jesus took birth in the stable, with apparently nothing to provide comfortable bedding, the stork pull out its feather and provided a comfortable bed for the baby. There were other animas as well in the stable but, all of them just looked at Christ in astonishment, while the stork did all he could to help baby Jesus. No wonder that, this unusual sense of sacrifice made them a symbol of good luck and prosperity since ancient times. And this sense of sacrifice makes this legend worth mentioning on this holy occasion. Let's have a closer look at the legend.
The Story Of Stork
Virgin Mary and Joseph delivered the Son of God in the stable at Bethlehem. After delivering the baby, mother Mary lay in a stable, surrounded by many birds and animals that had gathered to greet the newborn. There were wild animals among them who just wanted to have a glimpse of the baby whereas the other animals knelt down humbly in front of the infant. There was a stork too, among them. The stork was deeply moved when it saw the baby lying on an uncomfortable bedding of straw. While all the animals just looked on the stork kept worrying about the baby's comfort. When he could not find any soft thing in the stable to offer comfortable bedding to the baby Jesus, he pulled all its feathers out and, despite the immense pain, laid them out as bedding for infant Jesus. For the stork, the pain of his body was not as intense as the pain of seeing the newborn lying on straw. Infant Jesus smiled at the stork with overwhelming gratitude and also blessed the stork with undying glory. Even today, these birds are remembered for this thoughtful gesture and are considered as a symbol of births; they are hence, indispensable to baby-showers. It is considered a lucky omen if you see a stork flying over the roof a house, as storks are now referred to as the patrons of 'babies'.
There is a moral associated with every legend. The moral of this legend is that, selfless service would is always recognized and rewarded in due time.
There are many legends associated with Christmas. Here is the story of a stork who pulled out all its feathers to arrange a comfortable bedding for infant Jesus