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 28, 2026Oloupena Falls, island of Molokai, Hawaii
Feb 18, 2022Great Backyard Bird Count
Apr 4, 2018Mexican giant cardon cactus
Jul 18, 2022Marine Day in Japan
Feb 13, 2023El Valle de la Luna, Chile
Aug 28, 2022Bearded reedlings in Flevoland
Aug 9, 2020A peek at an explosive peak
Jan 9, 2021The stylish Spanish shawl
Jun 27, 2025Splendid leaf frog
Jul 28, 2020Over the boardwalk
Oct 8, 2020An underwater rainbow
Apr 17, 2026International Bat Appreciation Day
Jun 21, 2022Summer solstice
Dec 15, 2019The Battle of the Bulge 75 years later
Oct 20, 2023International Sloth Day
Jun 12, 2020Big sky at Big Bend
Apr 30, 2026Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse, Netherlands
Sep 27, 2019Ancient storage in the Grand Canyon
Nov 6, 2019Saffron in bloom
Jul 14, 2025Shark Awareness Day
Dec 31, 2021New Year s Eve
Nov 7, 2025Polar Bear Week
Nov 4, 2020Caribou on the move
Jul 10, 2022Ölüdeniz, Turkey
Jan 22, 2024Walton Lighthouse, Santa Cruz, California
Sep 18, 2018A red knot on the Shetland Islands, Scotland
Sep 1, 2019Bidding summer adieu
Oct 3, 2019Love on ice
Jul 31, 2025Ring-tailed lemur
Jul 3, 2024World Meerkat Day