The 2023 Poinsettia Fundraiser Sale is open! Our club sells beautiful poinsettia plants to our friends and neighbors yearly to help celebrate the holiday season. All the money raised goes to Rochester Rotary Charities, a registered non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, to fund charity projects in the Rochester area and worldwide. The 2023 Rochester Rotary Charities Poinsettia Sale will benefit local charities and scholarships.
You can order and pay for your beautiful poinsettias online at https://www.rochesterrotaryclub.org/page/poinsettias
Deadline: Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Delivery (Orders of 15+): Wednesday, November 29, 2023 ·8 am to noon, or
You can pick up your order at Bordines: Thursday, November 30, from 8 am to noon
The Legend of the Poinsettia
A charming story is told of Pepita, a poor Mexican girl with no gift to present the Christ Child at Christmas Eve Services. As Pepita walked slowly to the chapel with her cousin Pedro, her heart was filled with sadness rather than joy. "I am sure, Pepita, that even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes,” said Pedro consolingly.
Not knowing what else to do, Pepita knelt by the roadside and gathered a handful of common weeds, fashioning them into a small bouquet. Looking at the scraggly bunch of weeds, she felt more saddened and embarrassed than ever by the humbleness of her offering. She fought back a tear as she entered the small village chapel. As she approached the altar, she remembered Pedro’s kind words: “Even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes.” She felt her spirit lift as she knelt to lay the bouquet at the foot of the Nativity scene. Suddenly, the bouquet of weeds burst into blooms of brilliant red, and all who saw them were certain that they had witnessed a Christmas miracle right before their eyes. From that day on, the bright red flowers were known as Las Flores de Noche Buena, or Flowers of the Holy Night, for they bloomed each year during the Christmas season. Today, here in the United States, the common name for this plant is the poinsettia!