Poinsettia Day

During the holiday season, poinsettias are often seen adorning homes and festive displays, serving as symbols of goodwill and community spirit. December 12 marks National Poinsettia Day, a special occasion to honor the plant and Joel Robert Poinsett, a botanist and former minister to Mexico who introduced the beautiful plant to the US and died on this day in 1851. Poinsettias can be found in nature from Mexico to Guatemala, and the ancestors of the modern, commercially available version have been traced to the Mexican state of Guerrero. The crimson-leaved plant was used by the Aztecs as a red dye and as a fever-reducing medicine.
© Yarygin/Getty Images