"Life is like an onion. You peel it off one layer at a time; And sometimes you weep."
-Carl Sandburg, American poet.
Egyptian mummies set out for the afterlife with a stock of onions carefully wrapped in bandages, looking like another little mummy. Ancient Egyptian leaders took an oath of office with their right hand on an onion. In ancient Egypt, the onion symbolized eternity because of its circle-within-a-circle structure. Paintings of onions appear on the inner walls of the pyramids and in the tombs of both the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom.
The Romans ate onions regularly and carried them on journeys to their provinces in England and Germany. They believed the onion would cure vision problems, induce sleep, and heal mouth sores, dog bites, toothaches, dysentery and lumbago.
During the Middle Ages onions were worth so much that they were used to pay rent and were given as wedding gifts.
The onion was an ancient symbol of eternity because of the concentric circles that it contains. For this reason, Russian and other orthodox churches are designed with onion domes, a bulb-shaped dome with a pointy top.
Turkish legend has it that when Satan was cast out of heaven, garlic sprouted where he placed his left foot, an onion where he placed his right foot.
Countless folk remedies ascribe curative powers to onions: An onion under the pillow is thought to fight off insomnia; and chewing a raw onion sterilizes the mouth and wards off colds and sore throat.
During World War II, Russian soldiers applied onions to battle wounds as an antiseptic.
-Carl Sandburg, American poet.
Egyptian mummies set out for the afterlife with a stock of onions carefully wrapped in bandages, looking like another little mummy. Ancient Egyptian leaders took an oath of office with their right hand on an onion. In ancient Egypt, the onion symbolized eternity because of its circle-within-a-circle structure. Paintings of onions appear on the inner walls of the pyramids and in the tombs of both the Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom.
The Romans ate onions regularly and carried them on journeys to their provinces in England and Germany. They believed the onion would cure vision problems, induce sleep, and heal mouth sores, dog bites, toothaches, dysentery and lumbago.
During the Middle Ages onions were worth so much that they were used to pay rent and were given as wedding gifts.
The onion was an ancient symbol of eternity because of the concentric circles that it contains. For this reason, Russian and other orthodox churches are designed with onion domes, a bulb-shaped dome with a pointy top.
Turkish legend has it that when Satan was cast out of heaven, garlic sprouted where he placed his left foot, an onion where he placed his right foot.
Countless folk remedies ascribe curative powers to onions: An onion under the pillow is thought to fight off insomnia; and chewing a raw onion sterilizes the mouth and wards off colds and sore throat.
During World War II, Russian soldiers applied onions to battle wounds as an antiseptic.