The Flower of Christmas Eve Story
The Flower of Christmas Eve Story
A Mexican Folktale
Long age in Mexico a girl named Maria and her little brother Pablo were very poor but always looked forward to the Christmas festival. Each year a large Manger scene was set up in the village church, and the days before Christmas were filled with parades and parties.
The two children loved Christmas but one thing always made them sad. They were so poor they had no money to buy presents. They especially wished that they could give something to the church for the Baby Jesus. But they had nothing
One Christmas Eve, Maria and Pablo set out for church to attend the Christmas service. Along the way they picked some green plants growing along the roadside and decided to take them as their gift to the Baby Jesus in the manger scene.
So the children gathered up the plants and took them to the church. Some of the other children teased them because they had no better gift, but they said nothing for they knew they had given what they could.
Maria and Pablo began placing the green plants around the manger and miraculously, the green top leaves turned into bright red petals, and soon the manger was surrounded by beautiful star-like flowers.
From that time on, in Mexico, people began calling the green plant with the red petals "The Flower of Christmas Eve." Others came to call it the poinsettia, and to this day it is a favorite flower at Christmastime.
The Flower of Christmas Eve with printable color page.
