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The
Legend of Pepita and Pedro
 It is
said that the Poinsettia did not always have the beautiful red
flowers but was just another lowly weed that grew everywhere.
The legend of the Poinsettia goes back several centuries. A
charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl who had no
gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve
Services.
It was a
custom in many villages to honor the Christ child by bringing
gifts for him to the church as a part of the Christmas
festivities. One year, as little Pepita and her family were
preparing to go to the festivities, she was so sad because she
didn't have a nice gift to take for the baby Jesus. As they were
walking to the church, she told her cousin Pedro about how
ashamed and sad she was not to have a gift.
"I
am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in
love, will be acceptable in His eyes," said Pedro
consolingly.
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 the humbleness of her
offering. Of course she was also teased by other children when
they arrived with their gift, but Pepita said nothing for she
knew she had given what she could. She fought back a tear 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, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed
each year during the Christmas season.
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