The Poinsettia Story

As a child I was awed at the sight of this flaming red shrub at Christmas time. Even more as I grew older when I noticed that the “flowers” were leaves that turn red as the Yule season approaches. So as if in a journey to unlock some mystery worthy of one of Leon Uriz’s novels, I tried to gather some information into this beautiful shrub. What I found out are the facts and a fiction about the poinsettia (so named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico who introduced the plant into his country in 1825).

And since the flower is closely tied with Christmas, the time when age is a blur and every one has the right to be young, I find it appealing to dwell on the fiction side of the story.

The story has it that Pepita, a charming Mexican girl had no gift to give to the Child Jesus during the Christmas Eve services in the village chapel. So, as she walked with her cousin Pedro towards the chapel, her heart was full of sadness rather than joy. To soothe the gloom of Pepita’s heart, Pedro told her that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes.

Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel.

As she approached the altar, she remembered Pedro’s kind words: “Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes.” She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene.

Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes.

From that day on,  the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night for they blossomed each year during the Christmas season.