Last week we started a look into the history of the poinsettia by seeing the regions of the world where poinsettia grows wild and the characteristics that have made it such a striking and impressive holiday flower.
Now we want to start looking at how this blossom came to be known as the most famous Christmas flower and exactly how it gained the iconic position it holds today.
Pre-Colonial Use of the Poinsettia
As we described in part one of our look at the history of the poinsettia, the flower grows indigenously throughout regions of Mexico, mainly, and also parts of Central America. Because of its striking colour and the uses that it can be applied in it has always been an important plant to residents of these regions.
The Aztecs called poinsettias cuitlaxochitl, a word that roughly translates to “flower that grows in residues or soil” in the Aztec language Nahuatl. The poinsetta (or cuitlaxochitl) was used by the Aztecs to extract red dye and as a medication and, because of its beauty and functionality, it was an important flower in their culture.
Poinsettia as the Christmas Flower
With the arrival of European colonizers, the poinsettia became known for different reasons. Throughout Guatemala and Mexico it came to be known as Noche Buena (“Christmas Eve” in Spanish) and Flor de Pascua (“Easter Flower”) in Spain. It was also significant in South American cultures, with Chilean and Peruvian populations calling it a name that translates to “Crown of the Andes”.
It became part of Christmas traditions beginning in 16th century Mexico, where the influence of Christianity and Spanish culture began to give birth to a brand new holiday symbol.
Next time we’ll look at the evolution of the poinsettia, tracing how it came to be such an iconic flower in Christmas traditions by seeing its growth from Mexican folk bloom to an internationally recognized holiday symbol. We’ll see just how the Mexican tradition began and how it spread throughout the world.
