If there’s something that screams Christmas all the way, that’s the poinsettia flower. Its red and white colors mixed with the green of its trunk and lower leaves have become staples of the season, and for the past two centuries have adorned the houses of millions around the globe.
Something interesting about poinsettias, or ‘Euphorbia pulcherrima,’ is that they aren’t precisely a flower but a species of shrubs that are indigenous to Mexico and Guatemala. As a matter of fact, it was in Mexico when it was first associated with Christmas, and eventually, its popularity reached the entire world. So, what’s the story of the “Mexican flame flower” and how did it become the official flower of Christmas?
Origins and ancient use
As we mentioned, poinsettias, or nochebuenas as they are called in Mexico, are native to southern Mexico and northern Guatemala. This unique plant was cultivated by both Mayans and Aztecs in pre-hispanic times, and it had several uses. Ancient Aztecs used to call it cuetlaxochitl, which means “flower that grows in residues or soil” in Nahuatl.
The red leaves were boiled and used as natural dyes for both red and purple hues and were used for textile and cosmetic purposes. The white milky sap of the trunk was used for medicinal purposes to treat high fevers.
Eventually, with the colonization of the area and the implementation of Catholicism, poinsettias became a staple of Christmas in New Spain, and massive cultivation became one of the main winter activities in towns like Taxco de Alarcón in the state of Guerrero, in Southern Mexico.
The legend of the Nochebuenas
It wasn’t until the 17th century when poinsettias would acquire the status of the Christmas flower in the country. It all started with a legend. According to the story, a poor girl called Pepita had no means to give Baby Jesus a gift on the Christmas Eve service as it was accustomed. Poor Pepita could only find a bunch of weeds on her way and arranged a humble bouquet. Although she was embarrassed about the gift, she was encouraged by her cousin to present it to Baby Jesus, since it was the intention and the love behind the gift that mattered the most. Legend has it when Pepita reached the altar and placed her bouquet in front of the nativity scene the weeds started to blossom into beautiful bright red flowers. It was considered a miracle.
Christmas staple
Due to the beautiful Christmas miracle, these flowers were renamed ‘Flores de Noche Buena’ (Flowers of the Holy Night). Around the 17th century, inspired by the legend of Pepita, Franciscan priests started to use these plants to decorate Nativity scenes at churches, and thus tradition sparked. It’s believed that it was due to poinsettias’ natural colors that green, white, and red became the colors of Christmas.
During that time, poinsettias were granted meaning. Thanks to their unique shape, they came to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, the very same star that guided the Three Wise Men, figures still highly venerated in many countries in Latin America and Spain. The red color of the poinsettia leaves symbolizes the blood of Christ, and his sacrifice at the crucifixion; the white leaves represent his purity.
Poinsettias in the US
There are reports and descriptions of the flower in European chronicles since the late 18th century and early 19th century. However, it would be in the mid 18th century when the flower became popularized in the United States, and later on the rest of the world. It all happened thanks to a man called Joel Robert Poinsett, thus the peculiar name. He was the first US ambassador in Mexico and it was during one of his trips to Taxco that he first encountered what he first called the Mexican flame flower.
Poinsett was a botanic aficionado and had actually some plantations and greenhouses in South Carolina. Impressed by the unique beauty of the plant, in 1827 he decided to send some samples to his botanic friends in the US, who started planting them at his greenhouses. Luckily, the conditions were optimal to grow the plant on a larger scale. At first, they were sold as cut flowers in bouquets, and it wasn’t until the early 20th century that poinsettias started to be sold and distributed as pot plants.
By that time, poinsettias were still somehow an unknown plant in the country, but it was soon about to change. In the early 1900s, Albert Ecke opened an orchard in Los Angeles, where he would cultivate poinsettias. He started selling them on street stands but needed a push to make his business flourish. Seeing a window of opportunity, Ecke decided to free ship some poinsettias to television stations so they would decorate their sets on air during the Christmas season. They became a massive hit, to the point that December 12 was established as National Poinsettia Day after Poinsett’s death anniversary.
Today, we can’t picture Christmas icons or decorations without the beautiful nochebuena or poinsettia, an ancient indigenous flower that became a staple of the biggest festivity in the world.
Photos from: Shutterstock / Pexels: kstankss / Pexels: Becerra Govea Photo
