December 8th: National Poinsettia Day
By: Tania Mijares García
The Poinsettia flower is considered the Christmas flower par excellence and a gift from Mexico to the world, which is why “National Poinsettia Day” is celebrated every December 8th.
Poinsettia is of Mexican origin, growing wild along the Pacific coast, from southern Sinaloa to Guatemala, as well as from central Guerrero to southern Morelos.
The cultivation of that pre-Hispanic plant, Euphorbia pulcherrima, is a tradition in Mexican gardens and according to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), the poinsettia flower was used to decorate the altars of the mother goddess Tonantzin, and now its colors range from intense red to pink, even yellow or white, they are a fundamental part of Christmas decorations.
Since 2001, Dr. Mark Olson, from the UNAM Institute of Biology, has collected wild poinsettia specimens and generated a distribution map of the genetic diversity of these populations. He found that around 40% of the specimens sold in Mexico come from the states of Morelos and the rest from Puebla, Michoacán, the State of Mexico, Jalisco and Mexico City.
In the region of El Tajín, Veracruz, it is known as Pashtushtln (Totonac language); in Michoacán as uanipeni and in Morelos as poscuaxúchitl (Mexican dialect of Tetelcingo).
The variety of this ornamental plant reaches up to 10 meters in height in some regions; Its leaves are called bracts and can be red, white or painted and can measure between 10 and 20 centimeters.
For the Aztecs, who named it Cuetlaxochitl in Nahuatl, which means flower that withers, it symbolized the blood of the sacrifices that the indigenous people offered to the sun to renew their strength. In colonial times, the Franciscan friars of Taxco began to use it in the celebration of the birth of Jesus and by the 17th century it became the symbol of Christmas.
On December 8th, 2017, Christmas Eve was named Cultural Heritage of Guerrero, one of the main national producers.
At B + F we know the importance of protecting the diversity of our flora and we are very proud to have a flower that frames the December holidays in much of the world.