The Poinsettia
From Legends and Traditions of Christmas:
Devotional Ideas for Family and Group Use During Advent
By Trudie West Revoir, revised by John Pipe
The first United States ambassador to Mexico was Dr. Joel Robert Poinsett. He liked very much the beautiful Christmas plant that grows in Mexico, and when he came home, he brought a plant with him. Flower scientists named it "Poinsettia" after Dr. Poinsett. Mexican boys and girls could tell you a very old legend about how this flower came to be.
In Mexico it was the custom in every church, no matter how big or small, to place the figure of the baby Jesus in a manger near the altar on Christmas Eve. Every person in the village brought a gift for the baby Jesus to their church on that night.
In one small village there lived a little boy who was very poor. He didn’t have a single thing he could take to his church for the baby Jesus. It made him very sad, and he prayed for a way to show the Christ child how much he loved him.
As he walked along the path to the church, he saw some dried weeds that he thought looked pretty. He heard an angel voice saying, "Pick the weeds and place them on the altar tonight as your gift." He obeyed the voice; at least he now had something to give.
When he arrived at church he went inside and stood still in amazement. His simple church was decorated with all kinds of ornaments and hundreds of flickering candles. He watched all of the people of the village as they went to the altar one by one and presented their gifts to the Christ child.
When his turn came, he walked reverently down the aisle to where the baby Jesus lay in his manger. The little boy knelt down and said a prayer. He looked at the face of the Baby with all the love in his heart, and then he laid his bunch of dried weeds beside the other gifts.
Everyone said that what happened next was a miracle. Before their very eyes, the bunch of dried weeds turned into a beautiful flower! Its leaves all along the stem were a deep green. The flower itself was shaped like a star and it was bight red. It wasn’t dead, but alive and magnificent! They all held their breath, but the flower didn’t fade away. They looked in awe at the little boy who had laid it there. He knelt again and gave thanks to God because his prayer had been answered.
Ever since that night the plant has been called "Flor de la Noche Buena," or "The Flower of the Holy Night." It is usually in full bloom at Christmastime. In our country [U.S.A.] we grow millions of them. We like to have lots of them to decorate our churches for Christmas, and then we take them to our sick and shut-in friends.
From Legends and Traditions of Christmas: Devotional Ideas for Family and Group Use During Advent by Trudie West Revoir, revised by John Pipe (Valley Forge, Pa.: Judson Press, 1998), p. 49. Used by permission, 11/27/01.
[The authors remind us that some legends "do not sound as if they really could have happened; nevertheless, they can teach us lessons in thoughtfulness, kindness, and generosity." –Ed.]
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