Euphorbia pulcherrima
In Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, the plant is called Cuitlaxochitl
(from cuitlatl, residue, and xochitl, flower) meaning
"flower that grows in residues or soil." The Aztecs used the plant to
produce red dye and as an antipyretic
medication. Today
it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as "Noche Buena", meaning
Christmas Eve. In Spain it is known as "Flor de Pascua", meaning
"Easter flower". In both Chile and Peru, the plant became known as
"Crown of the Andes".
The plant's association with Christmas
began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too
poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The tale goes that the
child was inspired by an angel to
gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar.
Crimson "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful
poinsettias. From
the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their
Christmas celebrations. The
star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the
red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of
Jesus.
Poinsettias are popular Christmas
decorations[1]
in homes, churches, offices, and elsewhere across North America. They are
available in large numbers from grocery, drug, and hardware stores. In the
United States, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.
Big Spring, Texas is well known for
its poinsettias as the "lighted poinsettia capital". When the
Comanche Trail Festival of Lights first began the dam at the big spring held
four huge poinsettias made of rebar welded together in the shape of a
poinsettia flower. Each flower was made up of 5 leaves. The leaves were
decorated with red Christmas lights. The four poinsettia flowers were an
awesome sight to see entering Big Spring from the
south. Each year more flowers were added to the dam and inside the park until
Comanche Trail Park has by 2006 added seven poinsettias, making a total of
eleven lighted flowers on the dam and countless flowers inside the park, making
Comanche Trail Park the Christmas Poinsettia capital. (wikipedia)