Today is...
National Poinsettia Day!

Celebrate National Poinsettia Day! The poinsettia is a blossoming plant with beautiful red and green foliage, which makes it a very popular decoration during the holiday season. Although it is native to Mexico, 90% of all poinsettias are exported from the United States. The Aztecs considered poinsettias a symbol of purity because of their brilliant red color.
Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, introduced these gorgeous flowers to the United States in the 1820s. While visiting Taxco, Poinsett found the flowers growing on a hillside and sent some of them to his home in South Carolina. The flowers grew well in his greenhouse and Poinsett began distributing them. The name “poinsettia” soon became the accepted name of the flower in English-speaking countries.
To celebrate National Poinsettia Day, purchase a beautiful poinsettia plant for a friend or for yourself!

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December is National Fruit Cake Month & National Egg Nog Month

images and text courtesy of MyPunchbowl.com" -- http://www.mypunchbowl.com/

History for December 12th 0627 - Battle of Nineveh: Byzantines vs. Persia 1913 - The "Mona Lisa," stolen from the Louvre Museum in 1911, recovered 1914 - The largest one-day percentage drop in the history of Dow Jones Industrial Average, down 24.39%. 1963 -  Number one hit on UK music charts - The Beatles - I Want To Hold Your Hand   1964 -  Shooting starts for "Star Trek" pilot "The Cage" (shown in 1988 in a two-part episode "The Menagerie"). ______________________________________________________ "Dream big and dare to fail." -- Norman Vaughan