Poissentia Day is on December 12th. It was declared in honour of the death of Joel Roberts Poinsset, whom the plant is named after.
Poissentias are native to Mexico, where the Aztecs use them in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries both for medicinal purposes and for makng dye.
The Christmas connection to poissentias comes from Mexican legend which tells of a poor girl who dreams of bringing a bautiful gift to favour the Virgin Mary for a Christmas Eve service, yet has nothing worthy.
