Celebrate the Poinsettia!

Poinsettias

I am sure that you have bought one or two already for your home… a gorgeous blossoming plant with colorful foliage. They used to be just red…but now we have white, pink, coral, mixed variations and even

curled leaves!

Although the plant is native to Mexico, a majority of all the plants are exported from the US. The Aztecs considered them a symbol of purity because of their gorgeous red color. Joel Poinsett, the fiirst US ambassador to Mexico introduced them to the states after discovering them growing on the hillsides while visiting Taxco in the early 1880’s.

But actually the poinsettia can be traced back even further than that. The flower produced a red dye and the sap was known to control fevers, so Montezuma had poinsettias delivered to his home to what is now known as Mexico City.

In Mexico, they are are known as “La Flor de la Nochebuena”-flower of the Holy Night or Christmas Eve. Use of the plant to celebrate Christmas in Mexico dates back to the 17th century. As the legend is told, a young girl had nothing to honor baby Jesus in a procession and an angel tells her that any gift given with love will suffice. She gathers weeds by the roadside to place around the manger, which miraculously transform into the beautiful red starflower we know as the poinsettia.

Of course poinsettias are part of our holiday stitching! This was a canvas designed by Terry Enfield and then became part of the Jane Juell line, but not sure if it still being painted…it is one of my favorite ornaments to hang on my tree!

December 12th has been designated as National Poinsettia day as it marked the passing of Joel Poinsett, an American botantist, physician, minister and ambassador to Mexico who in 1828 sent cuttings of the plant that he discovered in Southern Mexico to his home in Charleston, South Carolina.

This day also honors Paul Ecke, a southern California native who is considered the father of the poinsettia industry. It was his discovery of a technique to propigate these plants that has turned it into a multi million-dollar business!

Are poinsettias poisonous to your kitties? Not really, unless they eat the entire plant! But I usually don’t tempt fate since certian people in this house and not mentioning any names, do chew on a plant or 2 of mine from time to time…
Sylvester1212
I came across this picture of Sylvester when he was just a little bitty one. It would have just been 19 years that he did come here to live with me and Felix. I remember cause I was in the midst of wrapping and decorating and they were so instantly enamored with each other, that they could have cared less what I was doing!
AC1212
and this was AlleyCat yesterday. I told her that Santa was not going to leave her any good catnip!
Happy shopping, wrapping, card writing, baking and party going!
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About Vicky

Needlepoint, morning noon and evening! what could be better than this? I work on the computer in the daylight hours editing stitch guides and drawing stitches that you will see in the next Needlepoint Now for your stitching pleasure! In between this, there is time for taking pictures of my stitching adventures, Facebook and writing stitch guides for canvas that I am stitching for Needle Deeva, Maggie, Ruth Schmuff and others. Mostly needlepoint you ask? well we will talk about my cats Sylvester and AlleyCat, better known as "the brat". Of course I can't forget Felix who was the love of my life for over 14 years. He broke my heart as he departed for the Rainbow Bridge last year. Oh did I mention baseball?

4 thoughts on “Celebrate the Poinsettia!

  1. I have to keep the poinsettia a friend gave me ion the window sill in my closed shower area. The florist had sprinkled glitter on the plant and I don’t like to have glitter anywhere near my kitties.

  2. Hi Vicky, I’ve been thinking of you especially lately. It is so hard to get over the passing of our beloved kitties. I look at mine and tell her that she just can’t die on me just yet. She is 14 but in good health but I am taking care of my 93 yr old mother in my home and she is in her final days. My kitty is such a comfort to me in this very trying time. If I didn’t have my needlepoint community or quilting community I don’t know what I would do. Happy holidays to you Vicky, are you flying back to NY for the holidays? It is 10 degrees here today, very unusual.

    • Happy Holidays to you too all things considered. Your kitty is very young yet in kitty years as Sylvester lived to be 19 and another senior cat of mine, Sneezy was 17 when he crossed the bridge. This is the first time in over 30 years that we’ve been just a 1-cat household. You are a great daughter and my best thoughts for you.

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