The Christmas season is fast approaching. Indeed, the
commercial world would have us believe that Christmas begins right after
Halloween, riding into our lives on the back of the witch’s broomstick. For
many, Christmas is the most anticipated season of the year.
In the midst of the festive hullabaloo, standing calm and
serene in their pots or on the mantelpiece, the plants associated with
Christmas brighten our days and, if we let them, bring moments of calm to the
otherwise hectic season. Several different ones are closely tied to the
season – the amaryllis, poinsettia, and Christmas cactus.
Let’s close our eyes and let our imaginations wander back to
a time before time began, to a place before places had names, to a tropical
paradise like no other seen on Earth today. There, in the misty light of
morning, we see creatures dressed in blazing red garments frolicking with
joyous abandon among the lush greenery. They are the mysterious Poinsett
sisters (not to be confused with the celebrated Pointer sisters of more recent
times). Their one duty in life is to bring brilliant color to the
jungle. And for eons they have fulfilled this task gladly. But
somehow, this day will be different. A stranger has appeared during the night
– a stranger dressed all in white, who has joined in the early morning dance
ritual as if she belonged. Slowly the dancing stops, as the sisters gather
around the stranger, still dancing enthusiastically.
“Who are you?” one of the Poinsetts finally asked, “and
where did you come from?” Smiling slyly, the stranger replied, “I am Ettia
Poinsett, your cousin from a neighboring land. I am the mutant offspring
of our mutual grandfather, who has predicted that I will become more popular
than you ever have been! I have come to take over this colony, for I can
dance with more wild abandon than any of you, and therefore am much better than
you are!”
The sisters in their radiant red finery shuddered, for
Ettia’s coming fulfilled an ancient prophecy – if ever there was evidence of a
male influence in the Poinsett clan, all the members would instantly take root
and never be able to dance again. Foolish Ettia, with her story of a
grandfather, made the prophecy come true. As the sun brightened in that
day long ago, each creature felt drawn to the soil as roots began to
grow. Even Ettia, with her foolish prediction (that never came true) that
white would be more popular than red, became rooted to the spot. And that
is why, my friends, your poinsettia plants need plenty of sunlight, in memory
of that day long ago and far away when frolicking wood creatures became plants
to brighten our holiday homes!
On the other side of the world, at about the same time that
Ettia was spoiling the dance for the Poinsetts, another drama was unfolding for
a family of tall folk called the Ryllises. These were stately folk,
dedicated to bringing peace to the land in which they lived. Their leader,
the head Ryllis, was a gentleman of limited intelligence who had been chosen
because there had been a flaw in the system used to choose leaders. But as
long as he was benevolent there was not much objection among the Ryllis
population, and the citizens went about their peaceful pursuits without
dissent.
One particular Ryllis, a beautiful maiden named Ama, was
exceptionally adept at bringing about peace, and she was often sought after by
mothers whose teenagers bordered on incivility from time to time. Amar had
a regal bearing, tall and erect, with flaming red hair that she accented by
wearing green garments most of the time. One day, however, sadness struck
the Ryllises, for Ama was missing. Everyone looked high and low, far and
near, up and down, but no Ama! She had been called out the afternoon before
to calm a particularly high spirited teenager who insisted that his name was
not Ryllis at all, but Tus, and that he belonged to the Christmas Tuses from
across the hill. Legend foretold that if the most beautiful Ryllis were
ever to disappear, and if the leader of the Ryllis did not intervene within 24
hours, the entire population would turn into plants, beautiful plants dedicated
to peaceful pursuits at Christmastime, but plants nevertheless. The Ryllis
leader was sleeping off a hangover on this particular day, and not being aware
of the legend’s stipulation, his staff (who were as mentally lacking as he) did
not disturb him. So it came about that, when Ama returned after being gone
two days, she found only plants where her family had been before. Distraught,
she chose to join them, and gave her beautiful name to the lovely flowers that
we enjoy today!
Meanwhile, the rebellious teenage Tus of the Christmas Tuses
was causing as much trouble as ever. He belonged to a gang called the Cacs
, and they engaged in every thorny, prickly pursuit imaginable. They
turned over garbage cans, threatened to pull up all of the Ryllises (after they
became plants), tied cans to raccoons’ tails, and in general got into as much
high spirited devilment as they could think of. Living in the same part of
the world as the Tuses was a member of the Clamen tribe who had exceptional
magical powers. This individual, whose name was Cy, was greatly disturbed
to learn what had happened to Ama Ryllis and her kinfolks as a result of the
shenanigans of the Cac gang of Tuses, and he pondered and pondered, thought and
thought, of an appropriate punishment for the teenagers.
Finally one day
he had an “AHA!” moment, for he had thought of just the right thing to
do. Traveling to the very neighborhood where the Cac gang hung out, he
waved his magic wand and incanted “Mumbo, jumbo, somesopac, let roots grow out
of each and every Cac!” And lo and behold, not only the Cac gang, but all
Tuses began to grow roots. Cy waved his wand again and intoned
“Abracadabra Asiatic power, may each one of you have a beautiful
flower!” And it was so. But, true to Cy’s spell, the Cac-Tuses could
only bloom if they became quite cold, a further punishment for having being so
mean to Ama-Ryllis!
Next time you have a beautiful poinsettia, Christmas cactus,
amaryllis, or cyclamen in December, remember their origins, and realize how
very special these houseplants are!
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