Poinsettia Day Dec 12, 2023

Poinsettia Day

During the holiday season, poinsettias brighten up homes in suitably festive coloring, serving as symbols of goodwill. December 12 marks National Poinsettia Day, a special occasion to celebrate this holiday favorite. The plant was introduced to the US by Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and former minister to Mexico who died on this day in 1851. Poinsettias can be found growing in the wild from Mexico to Guatemala. 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

palette

Today in History

Dec 12, 2018The story of the poinsettia
Dec 12, 2019On the lookout for Sheep-Cote Clod
Dec 12, 2020What are we looking at?
Dec 12, 2021Wicker fields in Cañamares, Spain
Dec 12, 2022Poinsettia Day
Dec 12, 2024Poinsettia Day
Dec 12, 2025National Poinsettia Day

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb 2, 2020Hut, hut, hike!
Oct 24, 2019Bridge of Hillsborough County
Jan 1, 2023New Year s Day
Jan 13, 2019On the hunt
Mar 3, 2024World Wildlife Day
May 2, 2018Mackerel forming a bait ball to avoid predators
Feb 19, 2019A dreamy start to the Year of the Pig
Mar 21, 2025Happy International Day of Forests!
Nov 27, 2020Green is the new black
Jul 23, 2019A state-of-the-art lookout on the Rock of Gibraltar
Oct 5, 2022World Teachers Day
Aug 25, 2024National Park Service Founders Day
Feb 27, 2024International Polar Bear Day
Sep 3, 2021Welcome to the Alien Egg Hatchery
May 7, 2025Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Mar 5, 2025Khao Sok National Park in Thailand
Sep 22, 2022First day of autumn
Jan 29, 2023Blackbird in Essex, England
Dec 17, 2024Traditional red fishermens cabins, Reine, Norway
May 26, 2024Methow Valley, North Cascades, Washington
Feb 27, 2019A predator at risk
Jan 8, 2018Gardens by the Bay nature park, Singapore
Jun 20, 2023American Eagle Day
Aug 3, 2020The monsoon arrives in the desert
Mar 5, 2023Cherry blossom season in Tokyo
Jan 21, 2022National Hug Day
Jun 13, 2019A unique elephant encounter in Nantes
Mar 11, 2019You re feeling sleepy
Jan 24, 2024Diamond Beach, Iceland
Feb 11, 2023Milky Way over Zabriskie Point, California