Poinsettia
Poinsettias are decorative plants which are associated with Christmas.
They are often used as a gift to take to someone around Christmas time when visiting their homes.
Joy to the world
Background
Poinsettias are beautiful winter blooms, native to Mexico.
They’ve been named after the first US ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, who found the plant growing by the side of the road in Taxco, Mexico, in December 1828 and sent cuttings home to his plantation in South Carolina.
Did you know?
Did you know that around 35 million poinsettias are sold in the USA each year, and about 4 million in the UK?
Did you know that in the wild, the poinsettia can reach heights of 12 feet with leaves measuring six to eight inches across? It is actually a small tropical tree which blooms in December.
The Aztecs extracted the purple dye from the plant for use in clothes and cosmetics. The milky white sap, today called latex, was made into a preparation to treat fevers.
The colours red and green are often used at Christmas.
For Christians, red symbolizes the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross, and green symbolizes eternal life – given to all who believe in Jesus.
The Bible says
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:6-8
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.