Snowfall...and Christmas cactus in bloom

One has to wonder what evolutionary reason there is for a Christmas cactus to bloom during the coldest season of the year. They are native to Brazil, where there aren't really seasonal changes in light, yet the blooming is triggered by the changes in light. Last night, we had our first snowfall of the season, and last week, the Christmas cactus opened its first blooms.  According to Wikipedia, they are also known as Thanksgiving cactus, which seems more accurate for those who live in the United States.

 

About four blooms have already fallen off, but it looks like it is roughly on par with what he displayed last year (which shows a diminishing trend, as far as blooms go).

As with previous years, any bud that isn't an inch long by the time the others bloom will probably fall off in the next week or so.

Other observations:
- the timing for this year is the second earliest, compared with prior years of sitting in the same spot
- it is rarely the same branch that hosts a flower, year after year.
- a few leaves have dropped since last year, but they've been replaced by new ones.