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Joel
Roberts Poinsett was the first US Ambassador to Mexico appointed by President
Andrew Jackson in the 1820's. During his stay in Mexico, he wandered into the
countryside looking for a new plant species. In 1828 he discovered a beautiful
shrub with large red flowers growing next to a road. He took cuttings and brought
them to his greenhouse in South Carolina. You can guess that it was Joel Roberts
Poinsett who brought the poinsettia to North America, creating a billion dollar
industry. Later, the botanical name, Euphorbia Pulcherrima, was given to the poinsettia
by the German botanist, Wilenow. The plant grew through a crack in his greenhouse.
Dazzled by it's color, he gave it the botanical name, Euphorbia Pulcherrima meaning
"very beautiful." And it is in late October when the greenhouse poinsettia changes
the color of it's top leaves while the sunshine diminishes to 8 hour days.
The legend story of the poinsettia is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican
girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. Pepita
walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin, Pedro, her heart filled with sadness
rather than joy.
"I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given
in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly.
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 than ever
by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small
village chapel.
As she approached the alter, she remembered Pedro's kind words:
"Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes."
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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. From that day on, the
bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the
Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season. Today, the
common name for this plant is the poinsettia!
Pepita, our poor Mexican friend, felt very humble as she gave
her scraggly bouquet of weeds to the Christ Child. Yet, she gave it in love. That
very beautiful gift, Euphorbia Pulcherrima, became a poinsettia. In the same way,
the gift of our lives to the Christ Child this Christmas can become a meaningful
and beautiful display of flowers; God uses our new lives in Him as we begin to
serve our Savior and Lord. Just as a flower can grow through some crack in a greenhouse,
we can be transformed into an amazing color of light in the darkness if we accept
Him (Romans 12:2).
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The
Legend of the Poinsettia and more:
