Mexico Christmas star, Poinsettia

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México
Poinsettia

Presenter Notes
Euphorbia pulcherrima, or noche buena, is a
species of flower indigenous to Mexico and
Central America. It is commonly known as
poinsettia after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first
United States Minister to Mexico, who introduced
the plant into the US in 1825.

Euphorbia pulcherrima is a shrub or small tree,
typically reaching a height of 0.6 to 4 m (2 to
16 ft). The plant bears dark green dentate leaves
that measure 7 to 16 cm (3 to 6 inches) in
length. The colored bractswhich are most often
flaming red but can be orange, pale green, cream,
pink, white or marbledare actually leaves
because the flowers are unassuming and do not
attract pollinators, brightly coloured leaves
developed (aka bracts). The colors come from
photoperiodism, meaning that they require
darkness for 12 hours at a time for at least 5
days in a row to change color. At the same time,
the plants need a lot of light during the day for
the brightest color.

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Euphorbia pulcherrima (the name pulcherrima means
"most beautiful), or noche buena, is a species
of flower indigenous to Mexico and Central
America. It is commonly known as poinsettia after
Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States
Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant into
the US in 1825.

Presenter Notes
Because of their groupings and colors, laymen
often think the bracts are the flower petals of
the plant. In fact, the flowers are grouped
within the small yellow structures found in the
center of each leaf bunch, and they are called
cyathia.

The species is native to Mexico. It is found in
the wild in deciduous tropical forest at moderate
elevations from southern Sinaloa down the entire
Pacific coast of Mexico to Chiapas and Guatemala.
It is also found in the interior in the hot,
seasonally dry forests of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and
Chiapas. Reports of E. pulcherrima growing in the
wild in Nicaragua and Costa Rica have yet to be
confirmed by botanists.citation needed

There are over 100 cultivated varieties of
poinsettia available. It is also called the
Atatürk flower in Turkey.

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Poinsettias are native to Mexico, where the
Aztecs used them in the 14th, 15th, and 16th
centuries both for medicinal purposes and for
making dye. 

Presenter Notes
Legend of Poinsettia

Dr. Joel Poinsett, who was the first ambassador
to Mexico, brought the bright red star-shaped
flower to the United States. Hence, it was names
as Poinsettia. It is also known as 'Flame Leaf'
or 'Flower of the Holy Night'. The legend related
to this favorite Christmas flower is Mexican too.
However, there are two versions of the story. In
one version, the two small children of the story
are known as Maria and her little brother Pablo
while in another version, two cousins are
mentioned by the names of Pepita and Pedro.
Whatever be the names, the story goes like
this

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Chile and Peru called the poinsettia the "Crown
of the Andes.
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The Aztecs called the poinsettia Cuetlaxochitl.
They made a reddish purple dye from the bracts.

Presenter Notes
There was once a brother-sister pair who was very
poor. They lived in a village and they had barely
enough to eat two full meals a day. As the
Christmas time approached, festivities, parades
and parties in the village attracted the
children. The gaiety of the season in itself was
quite charismatic. Moreover, a large manger scene
was being set up in the village church and all
the children were eager to go to Baby Jesus and
give him the best present. Mario and Pablo also
wanted to give expensive presents to the Holy
Child that He will love. While all children were
discussing, what they think is best for the baby
and what they will buy as the gift for Him, Mario
and Pablo knew that they had no money to buy the
presents and had nothing that they could gift to
the child.Yet, they could not let go of the
temptation to see the baby just once and give
something to Him. On Christmas Eve, Maria and
Pablo set out for church a little earlier than
others to attend the service. Since they had
nothing to give to the child, they thought of
plucking some weeds that was growing along the
roadside to make a soft bed for Baby Jesus and
decorate his crib. While they were still
decorating the crib of the Baby, other children
also arrived. Now, children can be very cruel
when it comes to teasing and making fun of
others. Mario and Pablo were almost in tears for
shame and helplessness when a miracle occurred.
Suddenly, the weeds burst into bright red petals
that looked like stars and were so beautiful that
everyone was awed by their beauty. Everybody
realized and said that a gift of love is dearer
to Jesus than the most expensive presents that
money could buy. Ever since then, Poinsettia
flowers have become favorites for Christmas
decorations.



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The Christmas connection to poinsettias comes
from a Mexican legend which tells of a poor girl
who dreams of bringing a beautiful gift to favor
the Virgin Mary for a Christmas Eve service, yet
has nothing worthy.  On the way to Church, she
meets an angel who tells her to pick some weeds. 
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Presenter Notes
t's certainly true that the poinsettia originated
in the south of Mexico, wending its way to the
United States of America in the admiring custody
of one Joel Roberts Poinsett.

Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851), was born in
Charleston South Carolina, and educated in Europe
and the U.S., studying medicine, military
strategy, and law. He became a member of South
Carolina's House of Representatives and
subsequently held many prominent political
positions. He also spearheaded the founding of
the Smithsonian Institution.

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She kneels by the roadside and, despite her
protests that they are far from desirable,
gathers a handful of common weeds and makes her
way to a small chapel where she places her
offering on the altar. 

Presenter Notes
Fluency in Spanish (as well as French, Italian
and German) resulted in Poinsett's diplomatic
appointment by President John Quincy Adams as the
first United States Ambassador to Mexico (then
called Minister of Mexico).

That was a tumultuous time in Mexico, and, to
make matters even more difficult, Poinsett's
impossible task was to offer Mexico a million
dollars to buy what is now the State of Texas.
However, the Mexicans did not want to sell Texas
and, in 1829, they invited the hapless Ambassador
Poinsett to leave.

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The moment she does, they burst into blooms of
brilliant red poinsettias and her sorrow turns to
joy.  The Mexicans renamed it Flor de Nochebuena
(Christmas Eve Flower).  
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Presenter Notes
In 1828, shortly before his absence was
requested, Poinsett, an avid amateur botanist,
was visiting the state of Taxco where he first
saw the plant that would eventually be named
after him. He shipped samples to South Carolina,
where they were called Mexican fire plant. The
Aztecs had called the plant cuetlaxochitl, and
from the 14th-century to the 16th, used the sap
to control fevers. The leaves were also used to
make dye. Montezuma, the last of the Aztec kings,
was forced to have poinsettias caravanned from
the south into what now is Mexico City because
the plant could not grow in such high altitudes.



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In Spain it is known as "Flor de Pascua,
Pascuero. From the 17th century, Franciscan
friars in Mexico included the plants in their
Christmas celebrations. The star-shaped leaf
pattern is said to symbolize the Star of
Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood
sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus

Presenter Notes
Upon his return to the U.S., Poinsett shared the
plant with friends and botanical gardens
worldwide. Around 1836, scholar William Hickline
Prescott, author of The History of the Conquest
of Mexico and after whom the town of Prescott
Arizona is named, was given the honor of renaming
the plant. It has been known as poinsettia ever
since.

Published or Updated on December 6, 2009 by
Maggie Van Ostrand 2009 Contact Maggie Van
Ostrand



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In nature, poinsettias are perennial flowering
shrubs that can grow to ten feet tall (3.1m). The
showy colored parts of poinsettias that most
people think are the flowers are actually colored
bracts (modified leaves).

Presenter Notes
Poinsett began propagating the plant and
dedicated the last years of his life to making
the "poinsettia" the Mexican symbol of Christmas
throughout the world. His dedication earned him a
fortune even though the plants translated
Nahuatl name ( flor que se marchita or the flower
that wilts) correctly described one of its
drawbacks. (Every Mexican gardener knows that the
nochebuena wilts within a few minutes after it is
cut, making it unsuitable for bouquets.) The
former ambassador gained a greater success,
however, when its original Latin name euphorbia
pulcherrima was changed to poinsettia
pulcherrima. Today, millions of dollars of
poinsettias are sold each year throughout the
world to herald the Christmas season.

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Presenter Notes
The Nahuatl (Aztec) name for this plant is
Cuetlaxochitl, which means "flower with leather
petals" and it was believed to represent the new
life that warriors attain in battle. The
Poinsettia gets its name in English from the
first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts
Poinsett, who brought the first samples of the
plant to the United States.

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The ancients knew this plant as Cuetlaxochitl,
which means "the flower of leather petals".  The
ancients considered all flowers to be divine
gifts of the Gods, not only because of their
wonderful beauty, scent and color, but they were
also believed to be metaphors of the most
beautiful feelings.  This star-shaped, red,
winter-flowering plant was a special favorite
long before the arrival of Columbus.
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A fresh poinsettia is one on which little or no
yellow pollen is showing on the flower clusters
in the center of the bracts. Plants that have
shed their pollen will soon drop their colorful
bracts.
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Poinsettias represent over 85 percent of the
potted plant sales during the holiday season.
Ninety percent of all poinsettias are exported
from the United States.
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Curly poinsettia
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There are over 100 varieties of poinsettias
available
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Poinsettia is also called the Atatürk flower in
Turkey
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Poinsettias are the most popular Christmas plant
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In the United States, December 12 is National
Poinsettia Day. It was declared in honor of the
death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, whom the plant is
named after.
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Poinsettia Day, December 12 in US, is the day of
Virgin of Guadalupe (Nuestra Señora de
Guadalupe), an official national holiday in
Mexico, observed with pilgrimages, processions,
special masses, fiestas, and Indian dances in
front of some churches. In a sense, the Virgin
of Guadalupe represents the essence of Mexico,
the fusion of two cultures, Catholic Spain and
indigenous Mexico.
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Poinsettias are 'short day plants', meaning they
flower when there are less than 12 hours
daylight, to ensure the minimum of competitors of
pollinating insects.  The colored red leaves
surround the base of the tiny flower heads and
are designed to attract insects that might
otherwise overlook the flowers.
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Euphorbia pulcherrima, or noche buena, is a shrub
or small tree, typically reaching a height of 0.6
to 4 m. The colors come from photoperiodism,
meaning that they require darkness for 12 hours
at a time for at least 5 days in a row to change
color. At the same time, the plants need a lot of
light during the day for the brightest color
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Poinsettia blanca
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The poinsettia has also been cultivated in Egypt
since the 1860s. It was brought from Mexico
during the Egyptian campaign. It is called "Bent
El Consul", "the consul's daughter", referring to
the U.S. ambassador Joel Poinsett
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Poinsettia, Christmas star, Christmas flower,
lobster plant, Mexican flame leaf, painted leaf,
Euphorbia pulcherrima
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Presenter Notes
Malagueña Salerosa also known as La Malagueña is
a well-known Son Huasteco or Huapango song from
Mexico, which has been covered more than 200
times by many performers.

The song is that of a man telling a woman (from
Málaga, Spain) how beautiful she is, and how he
would love to be her man, but that he understands
her rejecting him for being too poor.

Malagueña Salerosa is attributed to Elpidio
Ramírez and Pedro Galindo, published by Peer
International in 1947 (monitored by BMI),
although Mexican composer Nicandro Castillo
questions the validity of that authorship. As he
mentions

"Composer don Nicandro Castillo wrote that
several tunes from la Huasteca which were known
as huapango songs composed by Elpidio Ramírez,
Roque Ramírez and Pedro Galindo, were actually
anonymous songs, as was the case of Cielito Lindo
(Son Huasteco) and La Malagueña, which in
reality, like La Guasanga or El Sacamandú, where
known many years before, and should be part of
the public domain. "

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México
Alphonse Mucha
Text Pictures Internet All copyrights belong
to their respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu
2012
Sound Lila Downs - La Malagueña Perfume
de gardenias

Presenter Notes
Perfume de gardeniastiene tu boca,bellísimos
destellosde luz en tu mirar.Tu risa es una
rimade alegres notas,se mueven tus
cabelloscual ondas en la mar.Tu cuerpo es una
copiade Venus de Cibeles,que envidian las
mujerescuando te ven pasar.Y llevas en tu
almala virginal pureza,por eso es tu bellezade
un místico candor.Perfume de gardeniastiene tu
boca,perfume de gardenias,perfume del amor.