I'm sure many of you have at least one poinsettia in your home over the
holidays. Do you know The Legend of the Poinsettia?
There was once a poor
Mexican girl named Pepita who had no gift to present the Christ Child at
Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin
Pedro, her 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. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more
saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought
back a tear as she entered the small village chapel.
As she approached
the altar, she remembered Pedro's kind words: "Even the most humble gift, if
given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes." She felt her spirit lift as she
knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the nativity scene.
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.
The shape of the poinsettia flower and leaves are sometimes
thought as a symbol of the Star of Bethlehem which led the Wise Men to Jesus.
The red colored leaves symbolize the blood of Christ. The white leaves represent
His purity.
Anita Gardner Farrell
No comments:
Post a Comment