Christmas blooms with pointsettias

Tortola – The Christmas season is here once again and as is customary, many will be busy shopping and decorating their homes for the holidays. This is the time where flowers play a major role as part of this decoration; they do not only add extra beauty, but make everyone feel at home.

During the festive season, the most popular plant to decorate the home and office in the Virgin Islands is the ‘Pointsettia’. This flower is traditionally known to bloom during the Christmas season. The flower, itself, is a small collection of leaves which blooms into big, beautiful flowers.

However, she encouraged persons to start growing their own flower.

“We need to start looking at cultivating our own plants. Although it is not an indigenous plant, it is a common one.”

She explained that when the plant is bought, it only survives for approximately six weeks, but when it is cultivated, it can last longer. If cultivated, pointsettias need complete darkness from 5:00 pm to 8:00 am starting in September for about eight weeks.

“Any accidental lighting during that period and your pointsettia is finished,” Mrs. Georges said.

She noted that although the plant releases a milky white sap that can cause skin irritation, it is not poisonous.

The scientific name for pointsettias is “Euphorbia Pulcherrima.” The legend around this flower began with a peasant girl in Mexico, who was faced with a problem on Holy Night. According to the legend, the young girl lacked the means to contribute a gift in the Christ Child ceremony at the church. The girl was reassured that ‘it is the thought that counts’ when giving someone a gift.

Taking this advice, on her way to church, the girl picked some roadside weeds in order to make a bouquet. When it was time to present her gift in church, the bouquet of weeds was transformed into something much more colourful: Red Christmas Pointsettias. This is where the Pointsettias tradition was born and the reason why it continues to be associated with the holiday season.