Thursday, December 12, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show *** 

It is the 12th of December 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Just as Christmas elbows its way into our secular culture this time of year, so too has a Christmas theme made its way out of the weekend Christmas edition and onto the daily show….

There is no reason for you to know the name Paul Ecke Sr.

And not because he is an obscure churchman or theologian- that is not the case.

Paul Ecke Sr, the son of immigrant Albert, lived in Eagle Rock, California, at the turn of the last century. Here in Southern California at the time, it was the wild west, and the Ecke family would work as farmers in the Los Angeles area- until early overcrowding convinced Paul to narrow his business. He would help found what is today called the Los Angeles Flower Market. He would eventually move south to a farm in Encinitas in San Diego County.

But you wouldn’t know Paul Ecke’s name.  

You might recognize the name of Joel R. Poinsett. Or his last name might at least start to bring Christmas connotations. And it happens that this man, Poinsett, died on this the 12th of December in 1851. It’s too bad, I suppose, that we remember Poinsett and not Paul Ecke- but so it goes.

Poinsett was an American statesman and something of a rascal. He served as the first American Ambassador to Mexico, but with the intention of either purchasing Mexico for America or destabilizing the current regime in Mexico to benefit American interests. He helped establish Masonic lodges to this end and was eventually kicked out of the country and sent back to his, er… plantation in South Carolina. 

Oh, in Mexico, he saw this beautiful bright red flower used historically by Aztec royalty. As an amateur botanist, he sent clippings of this red-flowered plant, and it would take his name- Poinsett- such that today we have the Poinsett (a, or Poinsettia as it is spelled).

 But it was the Ecke’s, as they were redoubling their efforts in the floral market, that came to realize that this particular flower bloomed in winter. They sold on street corners and became popular enough that Paul devoted his Encinitas property to cultivating this obscure plant that, by the end of the century, would be firmly associated with Christmas and become the top-selling potted plant in America today.

Paul Ecke sent these plants, which he patented and at one time held 90% of the global Poinsettia market, to the White House and to Television programs, and as they were photographed with them, so too did they grow in popularity.

And Ecke knew of a story, reportedly from Mexico, that tied the flower to the season. It was the story of a young girl, Pepita, who went to a Christmas Eve service but without any flowers to help decorate the church. She took wild green weeds, all she had, and offered them in faith. Overnight, they were transformed into the beautiful red flower we call the Poinsettia (because of this one guy- in fact, in Mexico, to call someone a “Poinsettismo” is to call them a meddling foreigner who has overstayed their welcome).

The bright red flowering plant, in the wintertime no less, was historically connected to Aztec royal and medicinal practices. To what extent did the popularity of this plant make red and green the official colors of Christmas?

An evergreen in winter has always whispered something to humanity about immortality, and red has been associated with royalty, love, and sacrifice… Christians have taken these things already present and explained them in light of Christ- so red and green have been used by pagans, Coca-Cola, Christians, etc.

But today, we remember the plant perhaps most associated with the season, named for a rascal but promoted by the Ecke family- the Poinsettia, which is recognized officially by Congress on this day, the 12th of December.

And just to help your church and preempt the coming announcements, you can pick up your poinsettias for a small donation in the foyer after the Christmas service….

  

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and Isaiah 12

Surely God is my salvation;
    I will trust and not be afraid.


The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense;

    he has become my salvation.”

With joy you will draw water

    from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;

    make known among the nations what he has done,

    and proclaim that his name is exalted.

Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;

    let this be known to all the world.

Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,

    for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.”

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 12th of December 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who enjoys his Pepitas on a salad, maybe with tortilla strips, a southwestern dressing… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who reminds you that, like puppies- poinsettias aren’t just for Christmas either… you don’t have to put them down in January…. I’m  Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.