A favorite flower in the United States is the
poinsettia, with its beautiful, red, star-shape. It is
called the "Flame Leaf" in Central America or "Flower of
the Holy Night" and was brought here over a hundred
years ago by Dr. Joel Poinsett, our first ambassador to
Mexico. Most of the poinsettias used now come from
California.
The legend of the
poinsettia comes from Mexico. It tells of a girl named
Maria and her little brother Pablo. They were very poor
but always looked forward to the Christmas festival.
Each year a large manger scene was set up in the village
church, and the days before Christmas were filled with
parades and parties. The two children loved Christmas
but were always saddened because they had no money to
buy presents. They especially wished that they could
give something to the church for the Baby Jesus. But
they had nothing.
One Christmas Eve, Maria
and Pablo set out for church to attend the service. On
their way they picked some weeds growing along the
roadside and decided to take them as their gift to the
Baby Jesus in the manger scene. Of course other children
teased them when they arrived with their gift, but they
said nothing for they knew they had given what they
could. Maria and Pablo began placing the green plants
around the manger and miraculously, the green top leaves
turned into bright red petals, and soon the manger was
surrounded by beautiful star-like flowers and so we see
them today.
