KEEP CHRISTMAS SPIRIT ALIVE ALL YEAR

The internet describes Poinsettia as a tropical plant--Mexico, Guatemala, especially prevalent in the highlands.  Americans became big purchasers of poinsettias to bring cheer to the Christmas season.  The fine Wikipedia article, “Poinsettia,” gives the history:  an American government official brought the plant from Mexico to the U.S. in the 1870s and it’s only gained in popularity since then.   

                                                   Trilliums (above) are beautiful and regarded as

                                                                            a sign of spring.

What might one do with the lovely plant after Christmas season?  Keep it for a couple of weeks and garbage it?  Or hold it longer and hope to see its blooms against next season?  People will certainly have different answers to that question.

You might ask similar questions about the Christmas holiday itself.  At its core, the holiday stems from early Christian celebrations of the birth of Jesus.  Jesus’ birth and the Christmas story brought joy when it happened, except to the roman governor of the baby’s homeland.  Herod, the governor sought, but failed, to kill Jesus.  Many Jews of that time, and Romans too, caught on to Jesus’ mission and worshiped him as the Son of God.   Jesus’ message prevailed:  love of God and justice for humankind.  

 

So, here’s where the Christmas plant, the Poinsettia, fits in.  You might keep the plant alive for next year, but you can ALSO keep the spirit of the plant--that is, Jesus’ message of hope, love, justice for all--alive for sure.  Let the Christmas message guide your decisions and pray that it will guide the decisions of national leaders in every nation on earth.