12/12/12 is Not Only a Cool Date, It's Also National Poinsettia Day

Poinsettias - photo by theLibraryLander

Poinsettia Day also happens to fall on the Day of the Virgin, which in Mexico is celebrated with Poinsettias, very fitting since Mexico was responsible for Americans' adopting the showy plant as a Christmas tradition. Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist and US Ambassador to Mexico, brought cuttings of  Euphorbia pulcherrima to the US in 1825. These and other facts about Poinsettias are detailed on the University of Illinois Extension page. 12/12/12 comes once a century, so NPR and AtlanticWire did some research to see how people are marking the day. Though, I think the really cool date occurred last year on November 11 (11/11/11) - how perfect was that! Still, today is significant because it'll be the last triple date that will occur in our lifetimes.