A Rose, by any name......

   My apologies to all!
   You know how I love to point out
those "Special Days" that few people
know about and fewer actually
observe!
   Well I missed a big one this week!
   But, since it's so related to
Christmas, I thought I'd write about it
now so you can mark it on next year's
calender!
   Monday,December 12th. was
"National Poinsettia Day!"
   I kid you not!  An act of Congress
declared it to be so!
   I had no idea this "holiday" existed
and certainly knew nothing of the story
behind it!
   December 12th was picked because
it was the day, in 1851, when Joel
Roberts Poinsettia passed away!
   Joel was the first Ambassador to
Mexico and the man who first brought
the plant, now associated with
Christmas, back to the United States.
   He grew them at his plantation in
South Carolina and gave them to
friends as gifts.
   That's the basic story.
   But it leaves several questions
unanswered!
   What, for instance, did the Mexicans
call the plant?
   Did Joel name the plant after
himself or was that a Congressional
decision?
   And why do so many people ignore
its proper pronunciation?
   I can't answer the first two.
   But I can tell you that Poinsettia,
like the man for whom it's named,
is pronounced (Poin-set-ee-uh), not
(Point-setta)!
    You might want to point that out
to some announcers (and a couple
of florists too!). 
     And even though we, or at least
I, have missed the actual "Holiday"
it's nice to know the late Ambassador's
efforts are still such a big part of our
Christmas celebrations!
     Hope you enjoy the Poinsettia, know
how to pronounce it, and that all your
NEWS is good!