Discussion:
From the holly berries
to Santa himself, red is by far one of the most prominent colors of the
holidays. However, my favorite red items of the holidays are the Poinsettia
plants used for decorations. There is an old Mexican legend about how Poinsettias and Christmas come
together. It goes like this:
There was once a poor
Mexican girl named Pepita who had no present to give the baby Jesus at the
Christmas Eve services. As Pepita walked to the chapel sadly, her cousin Pedro
tried to cheer her up.
“Pepita,” he said,
“I’m sure that even the smallest gift given by someone who loves Him will
make Jesus happy.”
Pepita didn’t know what
she could give, so she picked a small handful of weeds from the roadside and
made them into a small bouquet. She felt embarrassed because she could only
give this small present to Jesus.
As she walked through
the chapel to the altar, she remembered what Pedro had said. She began to feel
better, knelt down, and put the bouquet at the bottom of the nativity scene.
Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into bright red flowers, and everyone who
saw them were sure they had seen a miracle. From that day on, the bright red
flowers were known as the Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night.
The red of the holidays
should remind us of the sacrifice that Christ made for us. Also, how we should
give back to Him with love every opportunity we have.
Prayer Requests: ____________________________________________________________________