Skip to main content

Christmas Firsts #12 : Poinsettia


Today, 12 December, is Poinsettia Day in Mexico and USA. In Mexico, the poinsettia is called La Flor de la Nochebuena or  Flower of the Holy Night and is displayed on Dia de la Virgen (Day of the Virgin) which is celebrated today. Today also marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, an American botanist and Minister to Mexico who in 1828 sent cuttings of the plant he'd discovered in Southern Mexico to his home in Charleston, South Carolina … and thus began the introduction of poinsettia outside of Mexico where it is a native plant. 


When did the poinsettia FIRST become a symbol of Christmas?

Sometime in the 17th century according to legend….

A young girl wanted to honour the Baby Jesus in a Christmas procession, but was very distressed as she had nothing to offer as a gift. An angel told her that any gift given with love is a perfect gift. (There is another version of this story which suggests that her cousin was the one with the good advice). The girl picked some weeds by the roadside to make a poor version of a bouquet. However, when she offered them and knelt by the Baby Jesus with her bouquet, the weeds suddenly turned into beautiful red star shaped flowers - poinsettia.  This is how the poinsettia got its Mexican name, meaning flower of the holy night and this story  established  the beginning of the flower's connection with Christmas. 

 Sources: 

http://www.poinsettiaday.com/

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

 Background Information:  Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start  with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound  silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap.  2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Bilby Infatuation

  Wrapped wire and fabric bilby sculpture : Wilma Simmons 2016  Over the years I have been fascinated with the plight of the bilby and it has inspired quite a few of my cloth creations... With long pinkish-coloured ears and silky, blue-grey fur, the Bilby has become Australia’s version of the Easter Bunny. Unlike the rabbit, bilby numbers are falling rapidly. There were originally two species but the Greater Bilby is now commonly referred to simply as ‘the Bilby’ as the Lesser Bilby (Macrotis leucura) is thought to have become extinct in the early 1950s... Bilbies are nocturnal, emerging after dark to forage for food. Using their long snouts, they dig out bulbs, tubers, spiders, termites, witchetty grubs and fungi. They use their tongues to lick up grass seeds. Bilbies have poor sight and rely on good hearing and a keen sense of smell. To minimise threats from predators they’ll mostly stay within 250m of their burrows, but sometimes roam further afield depending on the food...

Countdown to Christmas 20 - Fruitcake song!

There are many songs about fruit cakes  - not all of them referring to the Christmas cake we know and love.It is really surprising to learn via Google that there are 89 listed songs with references to Christmas cake or fruit cake - not all of them complimentary.   Probably one of the most famous folk songs about Christmas cake is Miss Fogarty's  Christmas Cake (a favourite sung by The Irish Rovers).  This first recorded comical Christmas song was written by C Frank Horn in 1883 in Pennsylania, as a variation of an Irish folk song, 'Miss Mulligan's Christmas Cake' . The chorus might give you the hint that Miss Fogarty's cake was not for the faint hearted or those who suffered from a weak stomach.    Chorus : There were plums and prunes and cherries, There were citrons and raisins and cinnamon, too There was nutmeg, cloves and berries And a crust that was nailed on with glue There were caraway seeds in abundance Such that...