POINSETTAS FOR CHRISTMAS

I bought a pot of Poinsetta plant to decorate my porch to give it a festive feel this Christmas. One pot costs RM20. As a matter of fact, I have been buying the plant for this purpose for a few years already.


So why is the significance of poinsettas and Christmas. In places where Christmas is celebrated, you can find . a poinsettia's scarlet, star-shaped leaves everywhe­re you turn during the holidays. Poinsettias are one of the most popular Christmas decorations around.

So what does a poinsettia have to do with Christmas? One interpretation of the plant is as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem, the heavenly body that led the three magi, or wise men, to the place where Christ was born. A Mexican legend tells of a girl who could only offer weeds as a gift to Jesus on Christmas Eve. When she brought the weeds into a church, they blossomed into the beautiful red plants we know as poinsettias, known as Flores de Noche Buena in Mexico (Spanish for "flowers of the holy night").

LINK: http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-christmas/christmas-poinsettia1.htm