The Story of The Poinsettia

FROM ROADSIDE WEEDS TO CHRISTMAS FLOWERS—THE STORY OF THE POINSETTIA

BY KAYLENE ARGOT

When you imagine a Christmas flower what do you think of? For most people our minds zip directly to the Poinsettia! And for good reason! Poinsettias are by far the most common flower to be found around Christmas time, with over 70 million being sold each year. But have you ever stopped to wonder what makes the Poinsettia so popular? Aside from being red, what qualifies it as a Christmas flower?

I didn’t have to wonder this long, since as a youngster I was tasked with memorize and reciting the story of the poinsettia to my church congregation, and being a lover of flowers, I was quite pleased to do so! I have always loved and remembered this piece, not only because it involves flowers, but because it tells the story of something far greater and gives a peak into the true meaning and magic of Christmas.

The Poinsettia was brought here over one hundred years ago by the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. Legend tells of a small girl who was too poor to offer a special gift for the celebration of Jesus’s birth. The tale goes that the child, inspired by an angel, gathered weeds from the roadside and placed them in front of the church altar. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful Poinsettias!

It’s a simple and endearing story but there are several points that always come back to me when I read it. First, that little girl had a lot of courage. Imagine a poor girl, barefoot in a torn and dirty dress, carrying a handful of weeds to the church alter. What must others have though? Some probably shook their heads in pity, while others laughed. Some may have even sneered. And yet, did the girl care? She offered her gift because it was in her heart to do so. Second, although the offering was meager, only weeds from the roadside, it was accepted and blessed. It bloomed and has grown to become the most widely recognized Christmas flower! All because a poor girl had in her heart to offer a gift to her Savior. This story took on even more meaning as I became a gardener. I realized that the weeds by the roadside had been poinsettias all along, they just hadn’t been yielded to God and were useless. You see Poinsettias need a strict period of darkness in order to bloom. This darkness was likely provided by being in the church at the altar. If the weeds had remained at the roadside they would still be weeds. In the same way, it is being in the presence of Jesus that changes us.

In this story the poinsettia isn’t just a flower, It’s a symbol of our hearts. On our own we are weeds barely surviving at the roadside and yet the sprit prompts us to come to the altar, to bring it all to Jesus. He doesn’t ask us to be more than what we are, only to come. (Matthew 11:28-29) People may laugh, they may shake their heads in pity, and they may even sneer. But if we have the courage to offer our gift, Jesus will both accept and bless what we bring before Him. (Micah 6:6-8)

PHOTO CREDIT: NANCY AGNEW