Christmas Colors

Caleb McInturff collect Poinsettias for a church order early Wednesday morning at FJ Torbetts Plant Farm in Piney Flats, Tennessee.



This Monet Poinsettia at FJ Torbett Plant Farm in Piney Flats, Tennessee is just one of the 9 colors available this year.  The plant farm starts with 5000 plants in July and this week after Thanksgiving is the time that the flowers are ready to become Christmas Decorations.

The plant's association with Christmas began in 16th-century Mexico, where legend tells of a girl, commonly called Pepita or Maria, who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday and was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson blossoms sprouted from the weeds and became poinsettias. From the 17th century, Franciscan friars in Mexico included the plants in their Christmas celebrations. The star-shaped leaf pattern is said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, and the red color represents the blood sacrifice through the crucifixion of Jesus according to Wikipedia.

Photos Earl Neikirk/Bristol Herald Courier/HeraldCourier.com