What do poinsettias have to do with Christmas?

A centuries-old Mexican legend, an American diplomat’s travels, and a marketing campaign out of California

As Christmas approaches, festive displays are appearing at homes, churches, and public spaces.

Alongside the holly and pine branches that are common this time of year, poinsettias also feature as a staple in Christmas displays.

Credit: CGS graphics / Shutterstock.

But how did poinsettias become a holiday tradition? What exactly is their link to Christmas?

It turns out, there is no single factor that accounts for the flower’s popularity at Christmastime.

Rather, it’s a combination of historical events — including a centuries-old Mexican legend, an American diplomat’s travels, and a marketing campaign out of California — that have given the plant its place among the pine trees and festive wreaths that help mark the Christmas season.

Poinsettia plants, which are indigenous to Mexico and Central America, were long grown by the Aztecs for medicine and dye.

They were originally viewed with skepticism by early Catholic missionaries in the region, because of their ties to the pagan culture.

But in the 16th century, a legend arose in Mexico that connected the plant to the celebration of Christmas.

The legend recounted the story of a poor young girl named Pepita who wanted to offer a gift to the Christ Child in the manger, but had no money to buy one.

As she walked to the local church to visit the Nativity scene, she gathered a bouquet of weeds from the side of the road. Some versions of the legend say she did so of her own initiative, and others say she was instructed by an angel who saw her generosity and purity of heart.

When she arrived at the church, Pepita lovingly placed the weeds in front of the Nativity scene, where, according to the legend, they were miraculously transformed into a beautiful poinsettia plant, called Cuetlaxochitl in the native language,

Because of Pepita’s legend, poinsettias became known as “Flowers of the Holy Night” — la flor de Nochebuena — since they bloom around Christmas.

Franciscan friars in Mexico soon began including poinsettias in their Christmas displays.

Poinsettias before an altar during Advent. Credit: Joe Shlabotnik/flickr. CC BY SA 2.0

But it was an American diplomat — Joel Roberts Poinsett — who popularized the tradition in the United States, and gave the flower its English-language name.

Poinsett, a horticulture geek, was appointed as the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico in 1825.

While traveling in Mexico, he encountered the plant, was enamored by it, and brought it back to the greenhouses on his South Carolina plantation.

From there, the brightly colored flower gained popularity throughout the United States.

In the early 1900s, a German immigrant family that owned an orchard in California developed a new grafting technique that yielded fuller, longer-lasting poinsettia plants.

Paul Ecke Sr. inspects poinsettias in a 1930s photo. Courtesy photo.

The family — the Eckes — then launched a major marketing campaign, sending free potted poinsettias to TV studios for their holiday specials, further cementing the plant in the public eye as a Christmas staple.

Today, the poinsettia is largely synonymous with Christmas. The bright red and green hues of the plant make it a colorful addition to Christmas displays, and the star-shaped leaves are said to evoke the Star of Bethlehem.

Some 70 million poinsettia plants are sold each year in the United States alone in the weeks leading up to Christmas - making them the most popular potted plant in the country.