The arrival of December always brings with it a touch of melancholy as we celebrate the holidays, reflect on the last days of the year, and remember those who are no longer with us. But it also brings tones of happiness, harmony, flavors, and above all, colors. The most outstanding and characteristic color, like the hallmark of Christmas, is red. And the great representative of all this is the flower that represents Christmas one hundred percent: the beautiful poinsettia.
The original name of this resplendent flower in Nahuatl is Cuetlaxochitl, which means “flower that withers,” whose earliest references are found in ancient Mexican codices.
There is evidence that in pre-Hispanic times, the flower was used in ceremonies and awarded as a trophy; in addition, the tlatoanis cultivated it in their gardens. The association with red is due to the fact that this color has a connotation of power deeply rooted in Mesoamerican culture.
Decades later, the poinsettia appeared in connection with the Catholic celebration of the birth of Jesus. It is very likely that the Franciscans, who settled in Taxco—now a municipality in Guerrero—revived the ceremonial use they had introduced in the Catholic Christmas celebration in their evangelizing efforts. Hence, Taxco is considered the center of Christmas Eve from a biocultural point of view.
According to documents from the Smithsonian Institution, Poinsett arrived in Mexico in 1825 as the first U.S. ambassador. During a trip to Taxco, he was fascinated by the beauty of these flowers that adorned the local churches. As a botany enthusiast, he sent several specimens to his greenhouses in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1828. In his honor, and despite its Mexican origin, the plant was popularly named poinsettia in the English-speaking world.
However, the global commercial explosion is due to the Ecke family. According to historical archives from The Los Angeles Times and the corporate history of The Ecke Ranch, this family of German immigrants in California developed grafting techniques to make it more compact and resistant to indoor conditions. Paul Ecke Jr. was the one who established the flower as a Christmas icon by sending free plants to television stations to appear on Christmas specials on programs such as The Tonight Show and Bob Hope specials, making the entire United States want that red flower in their homes.
Mexico has varieties of sun poinsettias, developed over several generations through traditional Mexican cultivation methods, of which 12 have been registered. The National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP) and the Autonomous University of Chapingo worked on registering the varieties.
Although there are no exact estimates of poinsettia sales, Europe is reported to be the leading producer of poinsettias with 110 million plants. The United States follows with 50 million plants. Mexico ranks third with 19 million plants. However, most of these plants come from more than 300 patents in the United States and other countries.
So when you see or buy your next poinsettia, think not only of a seasonal decoration, but of the entire history of Mexico that this flower tells each year it blooms. Regardless of language or latitude, its presence today communicates a universal message of warmth and celebration.