Jillian Chantal

The proper name for the plant I picked for this Christmas Eve version of Friday Facts is Euphorbia pulcherrima. My Latin background is telling me that means something along the lines of beautiful and good feelings. That is a very loose translation and the best I can do- LOL!  The Mexicans call this plant Noche Buena, which means the Good Night- Christmas Eve.  We commonly call it the poinsettia.  It got its name here in America from the man who introduced it to our culture in 1828- he was the first US Minister to Mexico and his name was Joel Poinsett.

The symbolism is interesting as well. The red color symbolizes the blood sacrifice of Jesus and the star shaped leaves are said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem.  

I love poinsettias. They are one of the symbols of this month where we celebrate the birth of Jesus and they are also the plant of the month for my own month -I was born in December and I feel an affinity for these blooms because of that as well as because of the symbolism of the holiday.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!