Is Poinsettia your birthday flower?

Is Poinsettia your birthday flower? If you were born on December 9th, then it is! It is one of two birthday flowers of December 9th annually. It is also one of the recognized birth flowers for the whole month of December. It is also the birthday flower of Christmas Day, December 25th, and is a flower many people associate with Christmas too.

The English name "Poinsettia" comes from Joel Roberts Poinsett (1779-1851), the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico who introduced the flower to America. The plant was brought to Japan during the Meiji period and was first given the name "Shojouboku" (shoujo-boku), based on a mythical creature characterized by its red face and heavy drinking. Nowadays its mostly called Poinsechia ポインセチア in Japanese.

In the Japanese language of flowers, poinsettia represent "Good Luck", "My heart", "Blessing" and "Purity". The latter "purity" is also a recognized meaning of the flower in English too, along with "be of good cheer". In Japan you can normally buy poinsettia between November and March, with peak season in December. They usually flower between November and February.