Poinsettias

Nothing says “Christmas” like poinsettias, and they have a very interesting history. Most people know they come from southern Mexico and the Mexicans have a lovely legend from the 14th century about how poinsettias and Christ and Christmas come together:

There was once a poor Mexican girl named Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Nativity Service. As Pepita sadly walked to the chapel, her cousin Pedro tried to cheer her up.

“Pepita,” he said, “I’m sure that even the smallest gift given by someone who loves him will make Jesus happy.”

Pepita didn’t know what she could give so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only give this small present to Jesus.

As she walked through the chapel to the altar she remembered what Pedro had said and she began to feel better. Pepita knelt down and placed the bouquet at the nativity.

Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day forward the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night.

During this time, the poinsettia’s association with Christmas was almost entirely confined to small Mexican towns and their local folklore. It remained in relative obscurity for almost two hundred years before a man by the name of Joel Roberts Poinsett introduced it to the United States. This introduction forever changed the way we decorate for the holidays.

Joel Roberts Poinsett was a man of many talents. He was the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, and was also a skilled and passionate botanist who co-founded the Smithsonian Institute.

In the winter of 1828, Poinsett took a diplomatic trip to Mexico on behalf of President John Quincy Adams. He visited the Taxco area where he wandered the countryside and became enchanted by the brilliant red leaves of an unfamiliar plant. Poinsett kept a greenhouse on his property in South Carolina and began shipping the blooms back to his home. There he studied and carefully cultivated the plants.

It wasn’t long before he began sharing the plants among his friends and colleagues around Christmas time. This was when the upper leaves of the shrub would turn red. The reputation of the Christmas plants spread and soon a Pennsylvania nurseryman by the name of Robert Buist began to cultivate poinsettias. Buist would be the first to sell the plant to the public under its botanical name of Euphorbia Pulcherrima. He also played a large role in helping to establish the plant’s Christmas reputation.

It wasn’t until about 1836 that the plant formally attained its popular name of “poinsettia” after the man who first brought the plant to the United States and ignited a holiday tradition that continues to this day.

Today, the poinsettia is the most popular plant sold during the holidays and the best-selling potted plant in the United States. Within a six-week period leading up to Christmas there are 70 million sold at a value of over $250 million.

The Rockdale Reporter employees wish you all a very Merry Christmas!—K.W.C.