Sunday, November 9, 2008

The Legend of the Poinsettia!


The local nursery is having their annual open house to start the 2008 Holiday Season next weekend...All you see is a sea of beautiful Poinsettias, so I thought I would post the Legend of the Poinsettia for you to enjoy...Will try and post some pictures of the sea of red next weekend...
A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy.
"I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly.
Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel.
As she approached the alter, she remembered Pedro's kind words: "Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene.
Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes.
From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season.
Today, the common name for this plant is the poinsettia!

4 comments:

Terry said...

What a sweet story Sue.
My mom was always able to keep one growing, and I remember it blooming on Thanksgiving one year, and it was a huge gorgeous bush. I could never keep them alive very long after Christmas.
Terry

Country*Road*Primitives said...

Loved the story Sue xox

BirchBerry Farms said...

Great story my dear friend---just thought I would pop in to say hi--it has been a while since we last visited and I was needin a Susie 'fix'---miss ya!!!

Rooster Inn Primitives said...

Sue i loved the story. They are such beautiful flowers. And i have a hard time keeping them alive.

hugs pam