Flor de Nochebuena, or Flower of the Holy Night

The Poinsettia,  Euphorbia pulcherrima

Poinsettias were first brought to the USA  in 1828  by Joel Roberts Poinsett

John Roberts “Joel’” Poinsett (March 2, 1774 - December 12, 1851) America's first ambassador to Mexico

 This one-time humble plant has become an international symbol of the holiday season mainly due to the German-American Ecke family   

Albert Ecke, patriarch of the Ecke Family

but the Poinsettia Tradition began long before that…

The poinsettia legend has a poor Mexican girl named Pepita walking with her brother Pedro to Christmas Eve services at the village church where people made gifts to the Christ Child. She was sad as she had no gift.

Pedro said consolingly, "I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." 

So Pepita knelt by the roadside and scooped a handful of common weeds and tried to fashion them into a presentable bouquet. In the chapel, Pepita placed the makeshift bouquet at the foot of the Nativity scene.

Suddenly the weeds burst into beautiful red blooms and all who saw were certain they had witnessed a miracle. From then on, the flower in Mexico became known as the Flor de Nochebuena, or Flower of the Holy Night.