Happy Poinsettia Day!

This is the first time I’ve heard of this holiday but my nine year old came home from school talking about it. They had learned about it in Spanish class. I did a little research and found it fascinating!

“In Mexico the plant is called La Flor de la Nochebuena or, Flower of the Holy Night and is displayed in celebration of the December 12th, Dia de la Virgen. Use of the plant to celebrate Christmas in Mexico dates back to the 17th century. The flower connects to the legend of a young girl, distraught about not having anything with which to honor the Baby Jesus in a Christmas Procession. An angel tells her that any gift given with love is a wonderful gift. Later the weeds she gathers by the roadside to place around the manger miraculously transform into the beautiful red star flower we think of as Poinsettia. But Mexico’s relationship to the plant goes back even further. The Aztecs called the plant Cuitlaxochitl meaning “star flower” and used it to produce a red dye. The sap was also used to control fevers. Montezuma, last of the Aztec kings, had Poinsettias delivered to him in by caravan to what is now Mexico City.” (Source: Poinsettia Day)

In July of 2002, the United States House of Representatives created Poinsettia Day in the US. The date is the day of Dia de la Virgen in Mexico, and coincidentally (no such thing!), marks the death of the first American minister to Mexico in 1825, Joel Roberts Poinsett. Poinsett served in Mexico until his recall in 1830. It was during this time that he visited the area of southern Mexico called Taxco del Alarcon were he found what was later to become known in the United States as the poinsettia. Poinsett, an avid amateur botanist, sent samples of the plant home to the States and by 1836 the plant was most widely known as the “poinsettia.”

From sources I found, poinsettias are the best-selling potted plant in the US and Canada and contribute $250,000,000 to the U.S. economy!

The legend of the young girl and the surely unexpected popularity of the poinsettia in the US and Canada demonstrate this week’s theme nicely: Great acts are made up of small deeds. – Lao Tzu

When I started reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances on Facebook and other social media platforms, I was often amazed at the things they remembered about me. More than one person told me that I had introduced them to their spouse! I had absolutely  no recollection of most of what they told me.  But, I was struck by how often, what is a small deed to us, may have major implications for others.

Do you have a story about how someone’s small deed affected you in a positive way? Or, how something you did had unexpected significance? Please share below!

From the 2010 FemCentral archives.