Poinsettia Art Print

The popular Christmas flower known in this country as the poinsettia was first called a cuetlaxochitl (kwet-lah-sho-shee) by the Aztecs. It represented purity, and its name signified “Flower that withers, mortal flower that perishes like all that is pure”. The cuetlaxochitl was honoured as a divine gift in acknowledgement that it had been given to humanity to help re-birth the light on Mother Earth. Temples were adorned with this elegant and dignified plant as its flowering coincided with the date of the birth of Huitzilopochtli (weet·see·luh·powch·tuh·le), Left-Handed Hummingbird, on the winter solstice. Huitzilopochtli represents the sacred power related to the sun and the cuetlaxochitl’s red leaves symbolize the sacred energy of the life force of blood. It also represents the blood of warriors killed in battle and heralded the return of those warriors to this world as hummingbirds,

The red bracts were also used to create dyes for textiles and cosmetics and the milk from the leaves were used for medicinal purposes.

Joel Robert Poinsett, a plantation slave owner, was appointed as ambassador to Mexico. On Christmas day 1825, Poinsett visited the Taxco church in Santa Prisca, where the Franciscans had adorned the nativity scene with exotic red flowers that gave it a very elegant and uncommon appearance. He stole some of the flowers and sent them back to the states, having claimed he ‘discovered’ them. The flowers were later named Poinsettia and became a symbol to white people for Christmas.