Christmas Traditions: The Poinsetta

(Christmas Customs) Poinsettia plants are native to Central America, especially an area of southern Mexico known as "Taxco del Alarcon" where they flower during the winter.  The ancient Aztecs called them 'cuetlaxochitl'.  The Aztecs had many uses for them including using the flowers (also known as bracts) to make a purple dye for clothes and cosmetics and the milky white sap was made into a medicine to treat fevers.  Today we refer to it as sap latex. 

The poinsettia was made widely known because of a man named Joel Roberts Poinsett.  He was the first Ambassador from the United States to Mexico in 1825.  He also founded the scientific institution in the U.S. called the National Institute for the Promotion of Science and the Useful Arts.  It was the predecessor of the Smithsonian Institute.  Poinsett had some greenhouses on his plantations in South Carolina, and while visiting the Taco area in 1828, he became very interested in the plants.  He immediately sent some of the plants back to South Carolina, where he began to grow the plants and sending them to friends and botanical gardens.  One of the friends he sent plants to was John Barroom of Philadelphia, who gave the plant to his friend, Robert Buist, a plantsmans from Pennsylvania.  Robert Buist was probably the first person to have sold the poinsettias under their botanical, or latin name, "Euphorbia pulcherrima"  It is thought that it became known as Poinsettia in the mid 1830's when people found out who had first brought it to America from Mexico. 

There is an old legend on how Poinsettia's and Christmas were combined together. 

There was once a poor Mexican girl called Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve Services.  As Pepita walked to the chapel, sadly, 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.  She began to feel better, knelt down and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene.  Suddenly, the bouqet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who saw them were sure they had seen a miracle.  From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the 'Flores de Noche Buena', or 'Flowers of the Holy Night.'

The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes thought of as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus.  The red colored leaves symbolizes the blood of Christ.  The white leaves represent the purity.