The Legend of the Poinsettia

Each year I look forward to the ending of the year, like so many of us, I become filled with the joy and merriment of the holiday season, adding festive poinsettias to our holiday home decor. We even keep an extra plant (or two) in our home to gift holiday party hosts, family and friends. Poinsettias are one of the traditional symbols of the festive, holiday season that bring about a warm glow while we're humming carols almost everywhere we go, looking forward to enjoying happy moments spent with family and friends. We give and we get these vibrant plants, desperately attempting to keep those poinsettias alive and flourishing past the winter season to no avail. As with most things in life, there's more to know about the poinsettia than simply what we see. Have you ever learned the Legend of the Poinsettia.

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Fact or Fiction - The Legend of the Poinsettia

Here's one common version of the "Legend of the Poinsettia", in case you haven't heard the story.

"Mexican legend tells the story of a poor child on the way to church on Christmas Eve. As was the custom in the village, everyone would bring gifts to lay at the feet of the Baby Jesus near the altar. The little child felt ashamed to not have a gift to give, but went to church anyway. On the way there, an angel told the little one to pick some dried weeds that were growing on the side of the road and use them as a gift. The young child did as told, and upon reaching the church, laid the weeds down next to the other precious gifts. As the little child did so, the weeds turned into beautiful flowers."

Poinsettias received their name in the United States in honor of Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, who introduced the plant into the country in 1828. Poinsett was a botanist, physician and the first United States Ambassador to Mexico. He sent cuttings of the plant he had discovered in Southern Mexico to his home in Charleston, South Carolina. The word Poinsettia is traditionally capitalized because it is named after a person. In Nahuatl , the language of the Aztecs, the Poinsettia was called Cuetlaxochitl (from tecuitlatl, for residue, and xochitl, for flower), meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil."

Today the plant is known in Mexico and Guatemala as "La Flor de la Nochebuena" (Flower of the Holy Night, or Christmas Eve).

One undisputed truth is that December 12th is Poinsettia Day, which marks the passing of Joel Roberts Poinsett in 1851. Poinsettias are not poisonous however, they are not edible.

What are your family's favorite holiday legends to share each year?

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