POINSETTA: FLOWER OF THE HOLY NIGHT

It will be Christmas about 3 weeks time and I am getting sentimental. When my mum was alive, she liked to buy poinsettas during this festive to decorate her porch to give it that Christmasy feel.   This year I bought a pot of poinsettas to carry on the tradition.  You can see it sitting prettily on the shoe rack of my porch.
All these years, I have spent it with my mum.  This will be the first time that she won't be here with me. Thankfully I will be visiting my sister, Li Lian and her family in Singapore around that time. So that makes it bearable for me.
Let me go back to the topic I set out to highlight for this post, Poinsettas.  This plant is a part of the Euphorbiaceae or Spurge family. Botanically, the plant is known as Euphorbia pulcherrima.  In Mexico Poinsettas are known  as ""La Flor de la Nochebuena" (Flower of the Holy Night, or Christmas Eve).

So why is this flower associated with Christmas.  Sources in the Web said that this winter flower’s association with Christmas comes from a Mexican legend. The story goes that a child, with no means for a grander gift, gathered humble weeds from the side of the road to place at the church altar on Christmas Eve. The congregation who was present witnessed a Christmas miracle, the weeds turned into brilliant red and green flowers.
While considered by the ancient Aztecs to be symbols of purity, in today's language of flowers, red, white or pink poinsettias, the December birth flower, symbolize good cheer and success and are said to bring wishes of mirth and celebration.

Source: http://www.teleflora.com/poinsettia/flowers-plants/poinsettia-detail.asp