Thanksgiving has passed , and in our house , that means it ’s time to decorate for Christmas . This will signify , of course , dragging out all the snowmen , Virgin Birth scenes and Santas . Our Christmas décor will also include a few unfermented flowers and plants , which we ’ll explore here on this web log during the calendar month of December .
The Poinsettia Tradition
Perhaps the most iconic of Christmas plant is thepoinsettia . At some point in time during the holiday time of year we wind up with at least one of these beautiful plants in the house . Every year , I hear the whispered warnings from those who somehow fear that an beast or child will make a collation out of the violent and green leave of absence . According to a 2013 Floriculture Statistics report , these fears have not retard the demand for the poinsettia . Annual purchase of this last Christmas ornament tops 23 percentage of all potted industrial plant buy in the U.S. throughout the year . That ’s pretty impressive .
Not Edible, But Not Poisonous
The poinsettia is in the Euphorbia family . member of this family have a milky balance in their parting and stems that is consider toxic . Poinsettia ( Euphorbia pulcherrima ) has been test legion times and is not considered truly venomous . That said , it still is n’t a campaigner for a winter salad . If eaten it would stimulate a powerful stomach aching , to say the least .
The poinsettia is well - have it off not for its flowers but for its brilliantly colored leaves . The flowers themselves are pretty unremarkable , but the top - most leaves transfer to color of red , pink , coral or white as the day get black and shorter . You might have friends that keep theirs in a cupboard much of the sentence for days on destruction just before the holiday — these extended period of dark help keep the colored foliage from turning back to green . Some of the more disgraceful colors you may find — regal , blue and dazzle — come as a result of dyes or paint .
A Colorful Gift For The Christ Child
The poinsettia is in reality a weed that turn in the ditches and furious place of South America and Mexico . Because this lowly , common works became so striking around Christmas each twelvemonth it has been used to celebrate the holiday in South America for hundred .
The poinsettia story goes that there were two tyke , a brother and sister , in a community that was bringing talent to the church to give to the Christ child . Everyone was bringing the very best they could open , but the sibling were very poor and did n’t have enough money to tip themselves . Feeling moved to give something , they went out into the bailiwick and pick the heavy , unripe , velvety leaves of a weed they find growing in abundance . They think the beautiful folio would make a prissy ornamentation , as well as soft bedding for the trough .
When they had delivered their humble gift , the townspeople began to express mirth . Amongst all the splendor they had presented , the weeds were ridiculous . As the child began to feel uncollectible about their contribution , the leaves suddenly explode forth in brilliant color . The gift of beloved was accepted by the Christ nestling as the most worthful . The tike who had consecrate when they had nothing were honour , and the lobster plant became cemented in Christmas celebrations from then on . Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar / Flickr
The Christmas flower is a transplant . It does not grow in the U.S. as a aboriginal and only became part of our traditions after 1828 . When we lead off to grow it commercially , it lost not only its original growing habit but also its cultural context . While I sit restfully pondering the lights on my Christmas tree this year , I will also be gazing at the poinsettia . Now that its story is reinstated in my family , it will hold a much in high spirits position of laurels for all that it represent for me about Christmas .
Maia C/Flickr
Susan Williams/Flickr
Marit & Toomas Hinnosaar/Flickr
