Editing Poinsettia (section)

==In culture==
Aztec people use the plant to produce red dye and as an [[antipyretic]] medication.<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/> In [[Nahuatl]], the language of the [[Aztecs]], the plant is called {{lang|nah|cuetlaxōchitl}}, meaning "flower that grows in residues or soil",<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/> or, literally, "excrement flower", because: "Birds would eat the seeds and deposit them somewhere, and so it seemed that the seeds would germinate and grow from bird droppings."<ref>{{cite book | last=Schrader | first=Dennis | title=Extraordinary Leaves | publisher=Firefly | publication-place=Buffalo, NY | date=2008 | isbn=978-1-55407-387-0| page = 26}}</ref> Today it is known in Mexico and Guatemala as {{lang|es|flor de nochebuena}} or simply {{lang|es|nochebuena}}, meaning "Christmas Eve flower".<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/> In Spain it is known as {{lang|es|flor de Pascua}} or {{lang|es|Pascua}}, meaning "[[Easter]] flower".<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/> In Chile and Peru, the plant became known as the "crown of the Andes".<ref name="Poinsettia Facts"/>

From the 17th century, friars of the Franciscan Christian [[Religious order#Christianity|religious order]] in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations.<ref>{{cite web|last=Jauron |first=Richard |url=http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1995/12-8-1995/trad.html |title=The Legends and Traditions of Holiday Plants |work=Horticulture and Home Pest News |publisher=Iowa State University |date=December 8, 1995 |access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref> The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the [[Star of Bethlehem]], the red color represents the blood shed during the sacrifice of [[crucifixion of Jesus|Jesus' crucifixion]], and the white leaves represent the purity of Jesus.<ref name="Caviness2020">{{cite web |url=https://www.umc.org/en/content/the-poinsettia-tells-jesus-life-story |title=The poinsettia: Jesus' life story in a plant |website=United Methodist Church |first=Crystal|last=Caviness |access-date=27 January 2020}}</ref> The use of the poinsetta during Christmastide is additionally related to a Christian folk story in Mexico about a poor girl named Pepita:<ref name="Caviness2020"/>

{{quotation|Pepita had no present to offer baby Jesus at the Christmas Eve service. As she walked to church, she noticed weeds growing alongside the road. She gathered a bouquet of weeds (some accounts say she did this at the urging of an angel). When Pepita laid her bouquet at the feet of the Christ Child, the weeds burst into bright red flowers. From that night on, the poinsettia was known as "Flores de Noche Buena," or "Flowers of the Holy Night."<ref name="Caviness2020"/>}}

Poinsettias are popular Christmas decorations<ref name=bussell/> in homes, churches, offices, and elsewhere across North America, as a result of an extensive marketing campaign by the Ecke family that began by shipping free poinsettias to television stations for use on-air.<ref name=lat/> In the US, December 12 is National Poinsettia Day, marking the anniversary of Joel Roberts Poinsett's death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://poinsettiaday.com/bill.html |title=Poinsettia Day Bill of Congress |publisher=Poinsettiaday.com |date=July 22, 2002 |access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-americas-most-popular-potted-plant-captured-christmas-180949299/ |title=How America's Most Popular Potted Plant Captured Christmas |website=Smithsonian.com |first=Erica R. |last=Hendry |date=12 December 2013 |access-date=8 December 2019}}</ref>