The Legend of the Poinsettia

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Our traditional Christmas flower here in the United States is the Poinsettia.  It was originally brought from Mexico to the United States by Dr. Joel Poinsett, who was the U.S.' first ambassador to Mexico.  Poinsettias have been considered our "Christmas Flower" for over 100 years.  

Today, most of the poinsettias found in houses in the United States are grown in California.

The legend of the Poinsettia {from Mexico}:

A young girl named Maria and her little brother Pablo were very poor, but they looked forward to Christmas every year all the same.  At Christmas a manger scene would be set up in the local church each year and there would be parties and parades in the streets.  

The children were disappointed every year when they couldn't afford to buy gifts.  But what they really wanted to do was buy something to give to the church for baby Jesus.  

One year, while on their way to the Christmas service, Maria and Pablo decide to pick some weeds they found on the side of the road to give to baby Jesus.  When the other children saw the weeds they began to laugh and make fun of Maria and Pablo.  The two children didn't care.  They had given all they could.  Quietly, they began to plant the green weeds in the dirt around the manger.  Suddenly the green leaves began to turn into bright red, star shaped flowers.  And that was the beginning of the poinsettia folower.

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