Monday, December 17, 2007

Christmas Trees and the Legend of the Poinsettia

There is just something about seeing an underwear Christmas tree at the grocery store that really amused me!


Since I am posting Christmas trees, here is ours this year. That, and about a dozen poinsettias was my decorating in a nutshell. Oh, and of course the nativity scene to cover my catholic guilt for a year. I did not realize until I moved here that poinsettias are native to southern Mexico/Central America. The spanish translation for poinsettias is Flores de Noche Buena. Noche Buena means Holy Night, which is what they call Christmas Eve.


The legend of the poinsettia is about 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.
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 her offering. She fought tears as she entered the small village chapel.
As she approached the alter, 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 for they bloomed each year during the Christmas
season.

3 comments:

jill said...

Hey, que pasa! I had forgotten your blog. So sorry. Tried giving you a call the other day. Spanish speaking lady who answered the phone had no idea what I was talking about. What gives? You gotta new number or what? Call or email when you have time. Miss you!

Love,
Jill

Sans said...

Hey!!
That was probably my cleaning lady, Sandra. Her english is non existent, I am actually suprised she even answered the phone! I'll call you this evening and fill you in on things and you can fill me in!
Love--
Sans

Anonymous said...

Glad you got a photo of that Underwear Christmas Tree. That's one of the funniest things I've seen in a while!