The Legend of the Poinsettia

Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro.

Here heart was filled with sadness rather than joy. “"I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro consolingly.

Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. She knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene, when suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes.

 From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season. Today, the common name for this plant is the poinsettia!