Long before the poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willdenow ex Klotzsch) became a Christmas symbol, it grew in the gardens of the Aztecs. The Aztec leader Moctezuma Ilhaicamina often visited the most famous of these gardens in Oaxatcpec. The cuetlaxochitl, "mortal flower that perishes and withers" was cultivated there as a reminder of the importance of blood sacrifices.

Moctezuma I became a statesman, warrior, city planner, and builder. He established a society that was a combination of socialism and free enterprise. He designed a double aqueduct water supply for Tenochtitlan and although it was not completed in his lifetime, he expected the streets washed daily and everyone to bathe. Tenochtitlan had fountains, terrace gardens, and sculptures. The marketplaces of the Aztecs rivaled any in Europe in the 1400s.

By the 1600s, those 'blood-thirsty barbarians' were subjugated and the flower came to represent the blood of Christ. It was then called la flor de nochebuena, the flower of the blessed night. The red 'flowers' were used to lavishly decorate the nativity scenes set up by Catholic missionaries at Christmastime.

In 1825, Joel Poinsett became the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. On Christmas Day, Poinsett 'discovered' the exotic nochebuena flowers in Santa Prisca, Taxco. He had seeds shipped back to friends in Charleston, South Carolina where the plants were named poinsettias.

During his stay in Mexico, Ambassador Poinsett was considered a meddlesome person. The Mexican government coined the word poinsettismo to describe intrusive and officious persons. In 1830, Poinsett was recalled to Washington. Stories say Poinsett received his 'marching home' orders on Christmas Day.

From 1837 to 1841, Poinsett served as the Secretary of War under President Martin Van Buren. It fell to Poinsett to carry out the Indian Removal Act authorized by Andrew Jackson in 1830. In the winter of 1838-39, Poinsett directed the U.S. Army to drive American Natives from their homes.

The Natives were forced to walk 1,200 miles from eastern Tennessee and Kentucky to the "Indian Territory" (Oklahoma). The military was not authorized to provide the "Indians" with food, clothing, or medical care. Exposure, hunger, and disease killed more than four thousand during the Trail of Tears march.

Perhaps the Aztecs named the flower correctly.