Poinsettia Day Dec. 12, 2023

During the holiday season, poinsettias are often seen adorning homes and festive displays, serving as symbols of goodwill and community spirit. Joel Robert Poinsett, a botanist and former minister to Mexico, introduced the plant to other countries to spread appreciation of its beauty. Poinsettias can be found in nature from Mexico to Guatemala, and 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

Holiday hues
Dec. 12, 2024Poinsettia Day
Dec. 12, 2025Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Vancouver, British Columbia

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Apr. 3, 2024Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Dec. 17, 2023Bohemian waxwings
Bryce Canyon hoodoos in winter
Aug. 16, 2025World Honey Bee Day
Dec. 1, 2023Lake Minnewanka, Alberta
Will we be ready for the ‘big one?’
Jun. 12, 2024Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA
Aug. 2, 2025Petroglyphs near Fruita in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah, United States
The ‘eighth wonder?’
Shades of Fall
May 13, 2024Fish River Canyon, Namibia
Nov. 28, 2024Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, British Columbia
Jan. 30, 2026Winterlude begins
Jun. 1, 2024Pride Month
The road less taken?
Finding beauty in ruins
Dragon tails trail to the sea
A grove glows green
An ugly duckling no more
Sep. 12, 2024World Dolphin Day
Apr. 13, 2025Songkran—Thai New Year
Stealthy pollinators
This lesson is going swimmingly
Pretty in pink
Nov. 17, 2024Red deer stag in Glen Affric, Scotland
Oct. 1, 2023Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, British Columbia
Feb. 27, 2024International Polar Bear Day
Dec. 12, 2025Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, Vancouver, British Columbia
Jan. 29, 2024Gollinger Waterfalls, Salzburg, Austria
Oct. 3, 2025Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland