History Series: Poinsettia
History of the Poinsettia
Why is it the Christmas Flower?
In the United States, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.
Why is it the Christmas flower, and how did it become popular in the United States?
Poinsettia in Mexico
During college, I studied one summer in Cuernavaca, a little town about an hour and a half south of Mexico City. Nochebuena, the Mexican name of the flower English speakers call poinsettia, was discovered in Taxco and the valleys surrounding Cuernavaca.
The story is told:
In Mexico long ago, the people flocked to church on Christmas Eve because they loved to fill the Christ child’s manger with flowers. A little boy named Jose was too poor to buy any flowers. An angel appeared to him and told him to pick some weeds from the side of the road. Following the instructions, Jose brought the weeds to the church. When he put them in the manger, they changed into beautiful scarlet flowers. The Mexicans call them the “Flor de la Noche Buena,” the Flower of Christmas Eve.
