As a National Holiday, when hardly any businesses are open, nearly everyone in the US has a day off. What do non-Christians and non-religious people do on Christmas Day?
Other Religious Traditions
Many religious traditions include a midwinter holiday, and those celebrations occasionally fall on December 25th. Even when they don’t, many faith communities take advantage of a day off from work and school to celebrate together.
Being Jewish or Buddhist on Christmas Day
In 2024, Hannukah and Christmas fell on the same day. However, this synching only happens about five times in a century.
I have a Jewish friend whose family tradition was to go to the movies. Most major U.S. theater chains are open on December 25th with early-afternoon showtimes and full or modified schedules. However, some have holiday surcharges.
One year when viewing Christmas decorations in the neighborhood, my Chinese-American granddaughter said, “We’re Buddhists and we don’t have holidays, but we celebrate Christmas as a cultural tradition.” Her family decorates a tree, exchanges gifts, etc.
Another family I know who practice Buddhism, and do not subscribe to any particular religion, traditionally go to a Chinese restaurant. Virtually all Chinese restaurants are open and Christmas Day is among the busiest days of the year for many.
Although the family I mentioned is Buddhist, eating Chinese food on December 25th is a widespread tradition among Jewish Americans. This practice began as far back as the 19th century, often attributed to the proximity of Jewish and Chinese American communities in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Today, the tradition has spread across America. One Chinatown restaurant in Chicago reported that in 2003 “I think we had the entire Jewish community here”, with their 350-seat restaurant being completely booked on December 25.
Being Muslim on Christmas Day
What about Muslims? Although Jesus and Mary are central to the Muslim faith, Christmas isn’t necessarily treated as a religious holiday. As far as I could find, there is no stand-out tradition in the Muslim community. Some treat it as a normal day, and rest or attend to personal matters. Others participate in celebrations or visit family, with many emphasizing maintaining good relations and respecting others’ traditions.
According to Fawzia Mirza, celebrations on the day often involve “auntie and uncle” parties with other U.S. South Asians. And also bowling! “The favorite Muslim pastime is bowling. Not on the day itself, but it’s like everyone else is visiting family and opening presents—we’re going bowling.”
Not every bowling alley is open on December 25th. Typically, hours are shortened and may vary by date, so check local hours and reservations if you’re interested.
Secular Traditions
Atheists and agnostics often celebrate Christmas non-religiously as a cultural holiday—focusing on family, friends, feasting, gifts, and togetherness, sometimes attending Unitarian services or enjoying secular traditions.
With this huge emphasis on family, what if you are alone—by choice or otherwise?
Consider spending Christmas Day alone as an opportunity for self-care and personal activities you enjoy, such as treating it like any other day, embracing solitude, and doing a mix of reflective, enjoyable, or meaningful tasks you choose. A friend is planning to spend the day alternately sewing dance costumes and playing video games.
And if you want ideas, there are many suggestions online!
It’s the time of year when many—most?—people would like to have a bit more money. Or a lot. Besides taking another job, selling their souls to corporate overlords, hustling for more tips, or panhandling, what are people doing?
Of course, your first thought would probably be for selling items you’ve found or made. But you might start a bit closer to home.
More personally, if you have good hair, you could sell that. Estimates suggest that several million people worldwide participate in hair selling annually, but exact numbers vary. But the human hair market, which includes hair extensions, wigs, and other hair products, is a multi-billion-dollar industry.
Although selling human organs is illegal in the U.S. and most other countries, some estimates indicate that trafficked organs account for up to 10% of organ transplants performed around the world.
Kidneys, lungs, and liver come to mind. Humans can live with one kidney or one lung, and a healthy liver will regenerate from the part remaining after a transplant.
When there’s a high demand ticketed event, go to the venue and offer to wait in line for someone—for whatever fee the traffic will bear.
Take drugs!
Participate in paid clinical trials for pharmaceuticals or other treatments. If you’re relatively healthy and not taking med/drugs, you can qualify for some drug trials. You’ll have to review them carefully because some things you just don’t want to mess with while others are relatively similar to drug trials.
Volunteer for testing medical devices/smartwatches that measure blood pressure and/or blood oxygen.
Each session generally lasts 60-90 minutes, could pay hundreds of dollars, and only requires giving a small amount of blood. Participation is typically limited to 2x per month.
Dog/cat/house sitting
If you stay at peoples’ houses with their animals, you could be paid more, up to $80/night.
Garbage can cleaning—or other basic but gross jobs
Deliver local magazine monthly (could be $150-250/month)
Sign your kids up for research studies (e.g., get paid for letting a researcher watch your kids play)
…Other
And then there are a few options that I just couldn’t categorize:
Watch for class-action lawsuits and join when you qualify.
Rent out your backyard for campers.
Found a new religion and demand tithes from all your new followers.
Compete in interesting competitions (eating, writing, shooting basketballs, etc.) for cash prizes.
Create community/local nude calendar. Lakeview, OR, did this to raise money for snow removal (Wall Street Journal,12/11/25).
Sell tickets to your wedding. (Personally, I’d label this incredibly rude, gross, and financially stupid!) YouTube had a viral posting about a couple who invited 350 people to their wedding at a cost of $333 per person—including family! Only 60 people attended.
Closely related: The Wall Street Journal (again,12/9/25) featured an article, The Lavish Weddings Where Crashers Are Welcome—for a Fee. Apparently there is a website that invites tourists (or others) to attend an Indian wedding, $150 for one day, $250 for multi-day celebrations.
Check out this Buzzfeed article for more suggestions and personal stories.
Bottom Line: Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Search online for novel ideas that suit your situation and inclinations.
Centuries before Europeans landed at Plymouth Rock or Newfoundland, agricultural communities along the Eastern seaboard held annual harvest celebrations every year. Though the details varied among tribes and climates, all involved giving thanks for a successful harvest and making preparations for the coming winter.
People preserved food they’d grown or gathered, such as cattails, corn, pawpaws, pumpkins, and fish. They also repaired and reinforced structures to face the coming winter weather. Festivities included music, dancing, and games.
Puerto Rico
After Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States in the late 19th century, its residents adopted many of the traditions of the American holiday, blending them with Puerto Rican culture. The focus is on a Thanksgiving meal that fuses flavors from both cuisines, with large family gatherings. Puerto Ricans celebrate Thanksgiving on the same day as Americans (the fourth Thursday in November).
But Puerto Ricans have put their own twist on the traditional Thanksgiving Day feast: there’s usually turkey—whether a roasted, seasoned pavochón or a turkey stuffed with mofongo (a mashed plantain dish)—but roast pork is also often on the menu, accompanied with more plantains, rice, and beans. Many Puerto Ricans embrace the same Black Friday shopping frenzy on the following day, and Christmas preparations also start around then.
Canadian Thanksgiving
Like its US counterpart, the first European Canadian Thanksgiving brought Canadian pilgrims together to give thanks for their new lives in the New World. This celebration took place in 1578, when English explorer Martin Frobisher held a feast in what’s now Nunavut to give thanks for the safety of his fleet. This feast actually pre-dated the first American Thanksgiving. (Historians believe that the first American Thanksgiving took place in 1621, over 40 years later.)
Many Canadian communities hold harvest fairs at Thanksgiving.
Today, Canadian Thanksgiving takes place on the second Monday of October. (First officially recognized in 1879 (November 6), it was moved to the second Monday in October in 1957.) Much like the U.S., it’s a time for gratitude, reflection, and delicious food shared with loved ones.
While Indigenous peoples had long celebrated harvest festivals, it was Loyalists who moved to Canada from the American colonies during the Revolutionary War who introduced turkey, along with some of the other customs from the American Thanksgiving we’re familiar with today. Pumpkin pie, stuffing, and sweet potatoes would certainly be familiar, though traditional poutine (french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy) sometimes appears as well.
Many communities in Mexico gather to distribute food on Día de Acción de Gracias
With a regional twist on traditional American Thanksgiving dishes, such as mole poblano and tamales, apple pie empanadas and turkey enchiladas, many Mexicans embrace the spirit of giving thanks while spending time with family and friends. Because Mexico is so close to the United States climate-wise, Día de Acción de Gracias usually occurs on the same day as American Thanksgiving.
While not widely celebrated throughout Mexico, some cities host small community events and tourists-targeted activities, while others observe religious services and harvest celebrations. Traditions may include Mexican elements such as piñatas or pan de muerto, reflecting a non-traditional but increasingly observed blend of customs. As more families travel to and from Mexico during the holiday season, Thanksgiving observances are spreading to more parts of the country.
Brazil: Dia de Ação de Graças
Brazilian Thanksgiving (Dia de Ação de Graças in Portuguese) follows the American tradition of a harvest feast on the fourth Thursday in November. It became a national Brazilian holiday in 1949 as a way to unify the Brazilian people. The Brazilian ambassador to the U.S. saw Americans enjoying a day of eating delicious food and giving thanks and decided that Brazilians should do the same. It’s been an unofficial holiday ever since.
Brazil is the only country in South America that celebrates Thanksgiving.
Though still not widely celebrated in Brazil, Dia de Ação de Graças is catching on each year. A Thanksgiving feast in Brazil includes many American staples, including turkey (known as peru in Portuguese), mashed potatoes (purê de batatas), and apple pie (torta de maçã). Brazilian specialties, such as the country’s national dish, feijoada, might make an appearance as well. Besides food and family, there are parades and church services to give thanks.
Thanksgiving in Barbados
Dancer “wukking up” at Crop Over
The people of Barbados celebrate Thanksgiving with a Crop Over festival at the end of the sugarcane harvest. This is typically held at the end of July through early August. This is a 300-year-old tradition that goes back to those who worked on sugarcane plantations and celebrated the harvest season. The celebrations include dancing, eating, and games.
Crop Over festivities begin with a ceremonial delivery of the Last Canes and crowning the Festival King and Queen. During Cohobblopot, Kadooment bands showcase their skills, and calypsonians perform to huge audiences. Local businesses offer their wares at the Bridgertown Market and sponsor calypso tents. Kadooment Day, the final day of the celebration, culminates in a carnival parade, with huge floats, elaborate dance troupes, and competing calypso bands.
Grenada West Indies
Every October 25, people on this West Indian island celebrate their own Thanksgiving Day, which marks the anniversary of a joint Caribbean and U.S. military invasion of Grenada in 1983. The troops’ arrival restored order after an army coup ousted and executed Maurice Bishop, Grenada’s socialist leader, and put the island under martial law.
While stationed on the West Indian island that fall, U.S. soldiers told local citizens about the upcoming American holiday and some of its traditions. To show their own gratitude, many people in towns and villages hosting the soldiers invited them to dine and celebrate with them, even surprising the soldiers with such non-native island foods as turkey, cranberry, and potatoes. Today, the Grenadian Thanksgiving features formal ceremonies of remembrance in the cities, but largely goes unmarked in more rural areas.
Liberian Thanksgiving
In the 1820s, free Blacks from American purchased Cape Mesurado and settled in the new colony of Liberia. In the 1880s, the Liberian government adopted the first Thursday in November as Thanksgiving, to express gratitude for the year’s blessings. (Unlike Thanksgiving events in other parts of the world, Liberian Thanksgiving isn’t a harvest festival; their harvests are often over by November.) Because English is the primary language of Liberia, celebrants greet each other with “Happy Thanksgiving!”
Students at a religious Thanksgiving service
Liberian Thanksgiving combines American traditions with religious rituals to thank God for blessings from the year, including food, health, and good weather. Today, it’s a largely Christian holiday. After services, churches auction off baskets filled with local fruits like papayas and mangoes.
The typical meal consists of a bird (sometimes chicken) with plenty of spices as well as mashed cassava and other traditional West African foods like jollof rice (similar to Cajun jambalaya) or fufu (cassava dough served with meat stew).
Celebrations are lively, marked by food but also music, dancing, and a deep sense of community.
Bottom Line: As these examples attest, giving thanks isn’t the province solely of the United States. Try pursue the topic of giving thanks in Israel, Ghana, Rwanda, and any other locations that interest you.
Giving thanks is everywhere, even though others call their thanksgiving by other names, and celebrate on different dates. This blog will focus on our European cousins.
Baking, canning, and flower contests at a Harvest Home celebration in Chew Stoke
The UK celebrates a harvest festival, also known as Harvest Home. People, particularly in rural villages, celebrate on the Sunday closest to the Harvest Moon – usually in late September or early October. The tradition dates back centuries, with origins in pagan rituals, when communities gathered to celebrate the successful bringing in of crops. In the past, the timing of the festival varied depending on when the harvest was ready, with the whole community, including children, helping until the last load of crops arrived.
“In 1957, there was 120lb cheddar cheese to be consumed and a 6’ x 2’ harvest loaf, which was borne aloft on the shoulders of six men” in the Somerset village of East Brent.
Modern Harvest Home festivals feature a feast of autumn crops and vegetables, as well as food donations and church services, keeping alive the spirit of gratitude for the season’s bounty.
Some say both US and Canadian Thanksgiving have roots in the United Kingdom’s annual Harvest Home. At the least, this tradition has to have influenced the origins of Thanksgiving in both the US and Canada, brought over by British immigrants.
Netherlands: Dankdag
Before leaving for the New World, English immigrants lived and worked for several years in the Netherlands, in the town of Leiden. About 40% of the Mayflower passengers spent over a decade (1609 to 1620) living in this Dutch city before heading to Massachusetts. Some even believe the Pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving was inspired by Leiden’s annual celebration of breaking the Spanish siege in 1574.
Harvest table at a church in Van Halland
They brought many of their customs to their new (temporary) home, including the practice of expressing gratitude for a successful fall harvest.
While Thanksgiving isn’t an official holiday, many restaurants offer special meals. Dankdag is still celebrated in Leiden. Citizens enjoy an American-style Thanksgiving dinner after a church service at Pieterskerk. The city of Leiden also honors its historic ties by holding non-denominational church services at Pieterskerk every fourth Thursday of November!
And if they live near Beschuitsteeg, they can explore the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum as a tribute to their long friendship with the pilgrims.
Germany: Erntedankfest
Like Britain and many other European countries, Germany celebrates the first major harvest of the season with a big festival. Erntedankfest (“thanks for the harvest fest”) doesn’t have an official date. This religious holiday often takes place on the first Sunday in October, which is often also the first Sunday following Michaelistag (Michaelmas) on September 29. Different places celebrate the occasion on various dates in September and October, but it typically takes place between early October and late November depending on the region, sometimes coinciding with Martinstag (St. Martin’s Day).
Erntedankfest decorations at a church in Oberösterreich
Erntedankfest is a community affair, often held outdoors or in churches rather than homes. It’s a lively gathering filled with parades, music, and tables laden with such hearty fare as die Masthühnchen (fattened-up chickens) or der Kapaun (castrated roosters), geese, hearty stews, fresh-baked bread, and local brews. There are plenty of traditional foods and seasonal produce. Colorful decorations like cornucopias are typical. There are also church services to begin the celebration, with lantern parades planned for the evening.
Though rural areas tend to take the harvest festival more literally, many churches in German cities also join in on the celebration, giving thanks for the good fortune their congregations experienced that year. During a typical Erntedankfest, celebrants carry an Erntekrone (“harvest crown”) of grains, fruit and flowers to the church in a solemn procession.
Though it’s more common in rural areas, many Germans observe Erntedankfest through televised events, connecting to their agricultural roots from afar.
Other German-speaking countries, such as Austria and Switzerland, also celebrate Erntedankfest to observe the autumn harvest. Erntedankfest traditions include parades, church services, concerts, fireworks, and a harvest feast, where turkey (Truthahn) is a holiday dinner favorite.
Poland: Dożynki
Harvest wreath parade in Milówka
The Polish harvest festival, Dożynki, dates back to the 16th century when landowners shared the bounty of the harvest with the land’s workers. The historical celebration included dancing, feasting, and crafting harvest wreaths to ensure fertility for the next harvest.
Today, the festival still includes feasts and harvest wreaths. Modern Dożynki celebrations incorporate religious elements, including a pilgrimage to Jasna Góra in Częstochowa. Many Polish celebrants dress in traditional outfits as they share in the harvest.
Thanksgiving in Rome
Italians do not have a national holiday that celebrates American Thanksgiving. However, plenty of Italians toast the holiday with their expat friends and family at a home or restaurant.
Not a modern depiction of Cerealia, but the sentiment is the same!
In addition, Rome celebrates a harvest festival known as Cerealia. This honors Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, grain, and the love a mother bears for her child. (FYI: In ancient Greek religion Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. She also appeared as a goddess of health, birth, and marriage.) Cerealia occurs every year on October 4th. Roman custom is to present fruits, grains, and animals to the goddess in appreciation. Parades and music are also part of the celebration.
Bottom Line: Celebrations of giving thanks in Europe share roots of giving thanks for food, much like our Thanksgiving.
In the United States, Thanksgiving is a significant celebration. But we are far from alone, even though others call their celebration of giving thanks by another name, and celebrate on a different date.
Mid-Autumn Festivals
Many countries in Asia have a harvest celebration in the autumn, such as Cambodia (Bon Om Touk), Laos (That Luang), and Vietnam (Tết Trung Thu). The lunisolar calendar determines the precise date every year, setting it on the 15th day of the 8th month. This corresponds to mid-September to early October of the Gregorian calendar. When the Harvest Moon appears in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, it’s time for giving thanks.
Giving Thanks in China
Chinese Thanksgiving, the Chung Chiu Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, lasts 3 days. In parts of China and other countries, celebrants mark the Mid-Autumn Festival with feasts, parades, and family celebrations.
Food is a major focus, especially mooncake, a round pastry that typically contains duck egg yolks, lotus seed paste, and sesame seeds. The yolk represents the full moon, and the cakes usually have the baker’s logo embossed on top. Sometimes, mooncakes (made with sweet dough) have fillings of lotus seed paste, red beans, or ice cream. Family and friends share mooncakes with one another to signify unity and peace to come.
Lanterns and moonlight also are a big focus of the Mid-Autumn festival. People write wishes on decorative lanterns and float them in the air or display them in their homes.
Giving Thanks in Korea
Food, family, and tradition are the focus of the Korean thanksgiving festival, known as Chuseok (autumn evening). The origins of this three-day holiday celebrating family, food, and ancestors traces back to ancient Korean celebrations of Chuseok (often called Hangawi or Korean Thanksgiving). South Koreans travel to their ancestral hometowns to perform charye, a memorial ceremony offering newly harvested foods like rice and fruit to honor their ancestors.
The night before Chuseok, families often gather to prepare songpyeontogether. Together, people form finely ground rice flour into small balls, fill them with sesame seeds, chestnuts, red beans, and other ingredients, and shape these into cakes. The traditional cooking method includes steaming songpyeon on pine needles. This time-honored tradition fills homes with the fragrant smell of autumn.
Gift-giving is a modern tradition, with exchanges of fresh fruit, beef, and even Spam gift sets! Crowds pack the roads and crowd stores in the days leading up to this important holiday.
Chuseok predates the division of Korea, but people in North Korea celebrate a little differently. Rather than gathering with family, North Koreans try to visit the gravesites of their ancestors. Those who are able might also visit the graves of founding members of the Kim dynasty.
Giving Thanks in Japan
The Thanksgiving holiday known as Kinro Kansha no Hi (Labor Thanksgiving Day), takes place on November 23rd each year. But even though it’s close to American Thanksgiving on the calendar, it dates back much farther—over 2,000 years!
Historians date the first Japanese Thanksgiving celebration to the 7th century B.C.E. It began as a harvest festival known as Niiname-sai (新嘗祭 Imperial Harvest Ritual) that celebrated the first rice crop of the year.
The modern tradition of Labor Thanksgiving Day began in 1948. After World War II, people dropped the imperialist roots of Niiname-sai, and the holiday became Kinro Kansha no Hi. Today, the holiday expresses gratitude toward Japan’s laborers, focusing on honoring workers’ rights and contributions (similar to combining Thanksgiving and Labor Day in the U.S.).
Today, the holiday means a day off work or school, writing thank-you notes to laborers, and crafts from schoolchildren for community workers such as policemen, firefighters and other municipal workers. There are no big meals or parades except the Nagano Labour Festival. Local organizations sponsor the Nagano Labour Festival to bring awareness to environmental and human rights issues. Such events are meant to encourage citizens to celebrate the principles of hard work, unity, and community involvement.
The Tamil people in South India hold a four-day festival called Pongal to thank the sun god, nature, and humans and animals that support agriculture. This is usually held in January or during the Tamil month of Thai. People get together with families and friends to decorate, offer prayers, hold craft fairs, and enjoy traditional foods.
The holiday features Sakkarai Pongal, a traditional Pongal dish made with milk, ghee (clarified butter), and rice. The Tamil culture regards it as a symbol of prosperity, connected to abundance and wealth.
Many people use rice flour to makekolam decorations. They mix it with dyes and draw complex geometric patterns on the ground. A kolam in front of a home’s entrance serves as a welcome sign and invitation to enter.
Giving Thanks in Malaysia
In Malaysia, several ethnic groups celebrate the Kaamatan harvest festival, a two-day public holiday on 30 and 31 May.
The festival is in tribute to the goddess Huminodun, who was sacrificed to save people from famine. Rice is the main ingredient in dishes served during this festival, along with rice wines. The festival ends with a Humabot ceremony complete with games, songs, and dance.
Celebrations include symbolic decorations, family and social gatherings, and activities such as beauty pageants (for both women and men), dance performances, singing competitions, and other art and craft performances.
Giving Thanks on Norfolk Island
New Zealanders and Australians don’t typically celebrate Thanksgiving—unless they live on Norfolk Island, a small Australian territory northeast of Sydney. This remote island is a former British penal colony.
Thanksgiving on Norfolk Island is a holdover from 19th-century American whalers who celebrated the holiday during their stay on the island. In fact, this Thanksgiving tradition dates back to the mid-1890s, when the American trader Isaac Robinson decided to host an American-style Thanksgiving service in the All Saints Church in Kingston in order to attract some visiting American whalers to the celebration. Thus the American roots.
Today, the people of Norfolk Island celebrate the holiday on the last Wednesday in November. People bring fruits, vegetables, and cornstalks to decorate the church and sing American hymns. After the Thanksgiving Day church service, people enjoy a lunch of American Thanksgiving dishes, plus banana pilaf and fish salad.
Celebrants often decorate with corn stalks, pumpkins, and other items reminiscent of American fall, even though November is springtime in their part of the world.
Bottom Line: Giving thanks is everywhere! Look for more next Tuesday.
Halloween spending was expected to reach a record $13.1 billion in 2025, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual consumer survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
Halloween By the Numbers
Why a record-breaking year? For one thing, more people are celebrating. Katherine Cullen, vice president of consumer insights at the NRF, said, “Whether it’s dressing in costume or carving a pumpkin, more consumers plan to take part in Halloween activities and traditions.” In fact, 73% of consumers are celebrating Halloween in some form, a slight bump from last year.
In addition, per-person spending will reach a record high of $114.45, nearly $11 more than last year and up from the previous record of $108.24 in 2023 (NRF).
What isn’t clear is whether individual people are buying more, or paying more for what they do buy. For example, chocolate prices have surged nearly 30% since last Halloween due to inflation, tariffs, and a global cocoa shortage. Most Halloween shoppers (79%) anticipate prices will be higher in 2025 specifically because of tariffs (NRF).
Consumers are paying more across every category, with nearly 8 in 10 saying they expect higher prices due to tariffs.
Candy: $33 per person; total spending on candy: $3.9 billion; 66% will hand out candy Decorations: $45 per person; about $4.2 billion total; 51% will decorate their homes or yards Costumes: $51 per person; $4.3 billion total; 71% planned on buying costumes Greeting cards: $21 per person; about $0.7 billion total; 38% buying cards
Like last year, consumers continue to gravitate toward early shopping. More than 49% of shoppers began buying Halloween items in September or earlier, a slight increase from 47% last year. Enthusiasm, careful budgeting, or both? Self-reported reasons consumers are shopping early are because they are looking forward to fall (44%), Halloween is one of their favorite holidays (37%), they do not want to miss out on desired items (33%), and they want to avoid the stress of last-minute shopping (33%).
Beware that shrinkflation and ingredient costs continue to affect package sizes and prices. Overall Halloween costs have trended up in recent years and are unlikely to roll back meaningfully.
Putting Halloween Spending in Perspective
Yes, those are really big numbers, but a few comparisons provide a gut punch. In a Boston University paper about Halloween spending in 2024, “That [$11.6 billion] is roughly the same amount of money as Americans spend on children’s books each year. It’s also about half the amount spent annually on dental care for children under age 17.”
Halloween Trends in 2025
Some Halloween traditions have withstood the test of time, such as carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating. However, some interesting trends have emerged to celebrate Halloween in 2025!
Toilet Papering
This according to a CBS news cast 10-31-25. Every Halloween season, when the sun sets in Heflin, a small Alabama town, students from Cleburne County High School toilet paper a few houses. A few years ago, they upped their game, and toilet papered just about every business in town, too. It was “funtastic” … until they hit the Heflin Police Department headquarters.
“It was up on the roof, the spare cars we had in the parking lot … We had to do something,” Heflin Police Chief Ross McGlaughn said. So the Heflin Police Department then got to work, supported by officers from multiple jurisdictions, all well armed with toilet paper.
The police “rolled” the students’ homes (having received permission from the students’ parents).
The Heflin toilet paper war has become popular all over town. Businesses are now offering support by putting out free toilet paper.
“As long as they’re doing this, they’re not getting into trouble doing something else,” McGlaughn said. “I haven’t seen any types of drugs or alcohol involved. You know, I think they’re spending all their money on toilet paper.”
After that news cast, maybe rolling will become a big trend.
Skeletons
In recent years, life-size (or larger!) skeletons have become a noticeable addition to outside decorations. According to sources across the internet, skeleton sales are in the multi-million dollar range. Home Depot’s $299 12-foot skeleton has attracted viral fame every year since it was first put out by the company in 2020. Some lucky people—I assume really fast people—got a “a special” discount on this skeleton, which sold out at $74.98.
Tater-or-Treat
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal recounted the story of a midwestern farmer who decided to offer potatoes as Halloween treats. As I recall, the trick-or-treaters could choose candy or potatoes. His intended joke went viral, and is spreading across the U.S. At least one household in Richmond, VA, made that offer this year. Children have been known to decorate their potatoes, or keep them for a year or so as “pets.”
My guess is that those adopting the potato option will spend even more for treats than they would have spent on individual pieces of candy.
Bottom Line: There’s a lot more to Halloween than candy corn and things that go bump in the night. It’s big business—and getting bigger!
***The NRF survey which was the source of most of the above data asked 8,045 consumers about their Halloween shopping plans. It was conducted Sept. 2-9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
My first experience with fortune telling bones was wishing bones: making a wish while breaking the turkey wishbone (the breast bone) with my sister, hoping for the longer piece and the wish fulfillment it would bring.
It turns out that the tradition of breaking a wishbone dates back over 2,400 years. Back then, the Etruscan people believed that chickens had all sorts of powers, including predicting the future and ensuring good fortune. The Etruscans thought that the collarbone of a chicken was sacred. After leaving it to dry in the sun, people would hold the unbroken bone and make a wish for good luck. The “wishbone tradition” originated in this early practice.
Subsequently, the people of Rome adopted the wishing tradition along with other Etruscan customs. They fought over the unbroken bones of chickens. It may be that the phrases, “I need a lucky break,” or “I never get a break,” came from the loser in the tug of collarbone contest.
The wishing bone tradition spread throughout England. When the Pilgrims arrived in the New World, they brought the custom of breaking the wishbone with them. Although there were no chickens in North America then, turkeys were abundant. European settlers transferred the custom from chickens to turkeys.
Painful Fortune Telling Bones
Some people have weather bones. I.e., they can predict changes in the weather by “feeling it” in their bones. Is this a real thing? Yes. Changes in barometric pressure and temperature can dramatically affect arthritic bones.
As many as two-thirds of people who live with chronic joint pain believe there’s a connection between their pain and changes in the weather. In a 2007 study, researchers at Tufts University found that for every 10-degree temperature drop, there was a corresponding increase in arthritis pain—i.e., the colder the weather, the greater the pain. They also reported that increasing barometric pressure increased pain, which makes sense because colder air is heavier. So, for (at least some) people, joint pain is a predictor of colder weather.
What about other methods of bone divination? I don’t have the space to discuss them all here, but manyresourcesonline provide more details and examples.
Osteomancy
Osteomancy is an ancient form of predicting the future by tossing a set of animal bones onto the ground and interpreting their positions and orientations. A set of bones for divination can be used repeatedly.
Modern practitioners of osteomancy say one should either use bones found in nature or purchase an ethically sourced set. The ideal bones for osteomancy come from animals who died of natural causes.
Scapulimancy
Deer scapula
Scapulimancy is divination using scapulae (shoulder blades). It is/was most widely practiced in China as oracle bones, but has also been independently developed in other areas, including the West.
Generally, people used scapulimancy in predicting future weather events and personal health status. Some religious practices also required fortune telling through bones.
Historically, scapulimancy has taken two major forms. In the first, practitioners simply examined the scapula of a slaughtered animal. This form was widespread in Europe, Northern Africa, and the Near East.
The second form involves the heating or burning of the bone and interpretation of the results. People practiced this form in East Asia and North America.
Rituals surrounding the reading of scapulae varied widely, and I don’t have the space to go into many details here. Suffice it to say the practice is ancient.
Scapulimancy in East Asia
Mongolians were one of the earliest peoples to use scapulimancy, according to archaeological digs in Inner Mongolia dating scapulae to approximately 3322 BCE. Diviners referred to divination manuals to guide their interpretation of the animal remains, reading the color of the bones and formation of cracks.
Archaeological sites along the south coast and off-lying islands of the Korean peninsula show that people used deer and pig scapulae in divination during the Korean Protohistoric Period, c. 300 BCE – 300/400 CE.
Archeological discoveries in China have yielded many specimens from a period spanned from 1250 to 1046 BCE. Ancient diviners likely exposed the bones (pig, sheep, cattle, and deer) to heat, deriving meaning from cracks that formed. The reading provided predictions for agricultural and health purposes.
Chapter 5 of the Kojiki, the Japanese Record of Ancient Matters, also mentions fortune telling bones. The heavenly deities used this process of scapulimancy during a consultation by lesser gods.
Scapulimancy in Europe and the Middle East
Scapulimancy is a method of divination among Greek and Serb farmers, even today. The memoirs of several warriors who fought during the Greek War of Independence include references. After feasts of roast lambs or kids, anyone who knew how to “read” a scapula would clean it of any remaining flesh and, lifting it up to the light, interpret the various shadowy bits showing on the transparent part of the bone.
Evidence of Arabic scapulimancy is sparse. A Florentine manuscript dated to the 1600s is currently the most referenced source and attributes the practice of scapulimancy in medieval Western European civilizations to the migration of traditions and ideas from the Arabic world. Historians have proposed trade across the Silk Road as a medium through which scapulimantic practices pervaded medieval European traditions from merchant trade with Arabic nomads.
Scapulimancy in South Africa
Zulu diviners in South Africa, known as izangomas, traditionally used bone reading in conjunction with other rituals involving herbal concoctions to communicate with spirits and those who have passed. The izangoma placed treated bones into the medicine, then interpreted aspects of the scapula floating above the liquid as spiritual communication. People within the community will seek out an izangoma if they would like personal questions answered or to communicate with the deceased. Witch doctors in many African communities still use scapulimancy and other bone reading rituals in a wide array of traditional healing ceremonies.
Astragalomancy
Mongolian astragali
Astragalomancy (also known as cubomancy) is a form of divination that uses dice specially marked with letters or numbers. Historically, the “dice” were usually knucklebones or other small bones of quadrupeds.
Each face of the die bears a symbol to convey meaning either to the reader or the divine powers. The diviner interprets this sequence according to certain rules – usually rules related to a religion (e.g.Tibetan Buddhism and the Mo system of cubomancy).
The practice of determining divine truth via random castings of dice or bones stretches back before recorded history. The Metropolitan Museum of Art displays bone “dice” (hakata) used by the Shona people of southern Africa for thousands of years.
Greek women playing knucklebones
Archaeologists have found marked astragali at many digs around the Mediterranean, including a site in Athens, Greece, dating to about 500 BCE. The Ancient Greeks performed astragalomancy by rolling dice and then consulting “dice oracles”, tables of divination results carved into statues or monoliths. In addition to matching the numbers on the astragali to the dice oracles, practitioners also held that certain numbers corresponded with particular divinities and would bring divine blessings.
The huayruis a dice game people play in South America at funerals. The game is traditionally played with llama bones, as they are believed to have a special power to attract the soul of the deceased. Reasons for playing this game revolve around divining the will of the recently deceased, often to communicate and receive guidance. The players of the game try to influence the results of the dice by offering prayers or pouring libations. (To me, this seems similar to blowing on dice before a roll for luck.)
Today, many people still call dice “bones”—whatever their material—because they were originally made of bone, as outlined above. If you want real bone dice, they are readily available online.
When everything rides on the roll of the dice, it reminds me of the wishbone tradition I started with.
Bottom Line: People have used bones to predict the future since time out of mind. Should you wish to try your hand, you can still acquire the bone ‘tools’ you need.
In October, my thoughts turn to skeletons. But there is much to bones beyond Halloween decor. In this second bone blog of the month, I turn to food, eating bones to keep body and soul together.
Humans have always consumed the marrow found in the long bones of animals. (Long bones are those that are longer than they are wide. For example, animal legs.) Today, marrow is found in bone-in cuts of meat from butchers or supermarkets.
European diners in the 18th century even had a specialized implement for removing marrow from a bone: a marrow scoop (or spoon), often of silver, with a long, thin bowl. Bone marrow’s popularity as a food is now relatively limited in the western world, but it remains in use in some gourmet restaurants and is popular among food enthusiasts.
Bone marrow brings a wealth of health benefits to the table. There are two types of bone marrow: yellow and red. Yellow bone marrow is located in the hollow cavities of the long bones. It is usually found at the center, surrounded by red bone marrow. Red marrow contains more nutrients than yellow marrow. But both contain many essential nutrients that boost the immune system (zinc and vitamin A), promote heart health (Omega-3 Fatty Acids and collagen), enhance skin health (collagen), support digestive well-being (because the gelatin in bone marrow has soothing properties) and support joint health (collagen). Bone marrow can even give you an energy boost: high in vitamin content and healthy fats, it provides a steady source of energy throughout the day.
Besides the above, collagen is especially important because, (according to WebMD) it also:
Helps your blood clot
Helps replace dead skin cells
Creates a protective cover for your organs
Allows new skin cells to grow
While bone marrow offers many benefits, it’s essential to be mindful of its source. If it’s from healthy, well-raised animals, the risks are minimal. However, bone marrow from animals treated with antibiotics or hormones poses potential health risks. Always opt for high-quality, grass-fed sources to ensure the best nutritional value.
Eating Bones and Marrow Around the World
International cuisine is rife with recipes using bone marrow:
Nalli Nihari
Vietnam: the soup base for the national staple dish, phở.
Philippines: the soup bulalo, made primarily of beef stock and marrow bones, seasoned with vegetables and boiled meat. Kansi, or sinigang na bulalo, is a sour variation of bulalo flavored with jackfruit.
Indonesia: bone marrow (sumsum) is especially popular in Minangkabau cuisine. Cooks often prepare sumsum as soup or as gulai (a curry-like dish).
India and Pakistan: slow-cooked marrow is the core ingredient in the dish nallinihari.
China: pig tibia (with one or both ends of the tibia chopped off) make slow-cooked soup. Diners scoop out the marrow with chopsticks or suck it out with a drinking straw.
Hungary: tibia, chopped into 10–15 cm pieces, is a main ingredient in húsleves beef soup. Cooks cover the ends with salt to prevent the marrow from leaking from the bone while cooking. Diners often spread the marrow on toast.
Germany: thick slices of whole beef shank with bone and marrow, available in grocery stores, supermarkets, and butcher shops. Cooks use markklöβchen marrow balls in beef soups or beef in horseradish cream sauce.
Italy: ossobuco (braised veal shanks); cross-cut shanks served bone-in, with the marrow still inside the bone.
French: pot-au-feu, a traditional dish of cooked bone marrow on toasted bread, sprinkled with coarse sea salt.
Iran: lamb shanks are usually broken before cooking to allow diners to suck out and eat the marrow when the dish is served. Many South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines have similar dishes.
Native Alaskans: the bone marrow eaten here is of caribou and moose.
Kathmandu, Nepal: a buffalo leaf tripe bag stuffed with bone marrow (Sapu Mhichā) served during special occasions. Diners eat the entire boiled, fried bag.
United States: pemmican (which I think of as the Native American version of jerky).
Bone Meal/Bonemeal
Historically, people have used bone meal as a human calcium supplement. Research has shown that calcium and lead in their ionic forms (Ca 2+ , Pb 2+) have similar atomic structures and so create a potential for accumulation of lead in bones, sometimes leading to death.
An accumulation of lead in the human body causes lead poisoning (plumbism, saturnism). Researchers believe lead poisoning is behind 0.6% of the world’s disease burden. Symptoms of lead poisoning include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, numbness and/or tingling in the hands and feet. In the 1970s, the EPA developed more stringent importation rules for bone meal.
Many farmers still use bone meal, and a variety of other meals, as a dietary/mineral supplement for livestock. However, the improper use of bone and meat meal products in animal nutrition can contribute to the spread of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known in cattle as Mad Cow Disease. Proper heat control can reduce salmonella contaminants.
Bone Broth
If you research bone broth online, you will find claims such as, “Bone broth is the ultimate solution to holistic health. Learn more about the reasons why you should incorporate bone broth into your daily routine. Collagen-Rich. High Protein. No Preservatives.”
Or, “Bone Broth Protein is a nourishing, concentrated bone broth that is 3x as potent* as homemade broth and makes it easy to get healthy gut and joint support. Beauty, Joint Support, Gut Support.”
The current popularity of bone broth is sometimes attributed to celebrity and other popular online influencers.
“Bone broth is a traditional nutrient revered by different people from ancient times to the modern era as a remedy for various illnesses. This review investigates the nutritional components of bone broth…
“Through comprehensive reviews of animal and human studies, this research highlights that bone broth includes amino acids (glutamine, glycine, proline, histidine, arginine), minerals (Ca, P, K, Mg, Zn) that are beneficial…
“The benefits documented for components in bone broth support the enhancement of gut health, alleviate inflammation in the intestinal barrier, improve intestinal barrier function in health and disease states, particularly in inflammatory bowel disease, as well as enhancing nutrient absorption. Bone broth offers a nutrient-dense option for enhancing overall health and may offer an alternative to dietary supplements with claims for enhanced gut health. We aim to foster interest in and provide evidence to substantiate claims for bone broth as a potential remedy, particularly for maintaining remission in conditions like IBD [inflammatory bowel disease] and possibly functional diarrhea and to encourage further research.”
In short, it’s a great source of nutrition. But is there a down side?
Dangers of Eating Bones
According to medicinenet.com, bone broth, if not prepared with standard manufacturing protocols, may contain heavy metals and harsh chemicals that can harm the body.
Lead is a heavy metal that may settle on vegetables and plants grown on lead-contaminated soil. Cattle may graze on such contaminated vegetables or plants. Therefore, there is a danger of lead contamination in several varieties of bone broth, as well as a risk of lead poisoning. Lead build-up in the bones may leach into the bone broth.
According to some studies, bone broth may be high in glutamate, which may cause adverse effects such as anxiety, restlessness, low energy, mental exhaustion, sleeplessness, and concentration problems, although there is no scientific evidence to prove this.
Surprise! (Or maybe not.) Most gelatin is made from the byproducts of meat and leather industries, usually bones and skin. In its purest form, it’s 98 to 99% protein, tasteless and odorless. Gelatin was around as far back as the Middle Ages. Because it was hard to make, it was reserved for the wealthy.
Though making gelatin is still a complicated endeavor, modern industry has streamlined the process. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, making gelatin from cattle bones is a 20-week process: bone crushing, cooking, spinning in a centrifuge, drying, degreasing, treating with a weak hydrochloric acid solution, several water washes, treatment with a lime slurry to remove everything that isn’t collagen, more washing, filtering, neutralizing the pH, sterilizing, cooling, and hot air drying.
Who created this process anyway?
Besides candy and supplements in gummy form, gelatin stabilizes, thickens, and adds texture to a wide variety of foods.
Eating utensils: No doubt our long-ago ancestors made them, but today you can buy bone place settings (knife, fork, and two-sizes of spoons), as well as bone spoon/fork serving utensils and miscellaneous bone spoons in various shapes and sizes. Bone handle flatware is more common now.
Bone china: Unlike porcelain, which contains only minerals, bone china includes bone ash. It originated in England in the 1700s. For a long time, virtually all bone china was made there. Historians generally recognize Josiah Spode I as the one who standardized bone china production. The Spode family’s business—Spode—is still making bone china. Today, bone china is made around the world by companies such as Lennox, which has made numerous pieces for presidents since 1918.
Bottom Line: From ancient times to today, bones have nourished people, often with the aid of bone eating utensils.
In October, I think of bones. And what uses might bones have besides holding up human and animal bodies? This week’s blog is the first of my October bone series.
Archeological evidence of wind chimes dates back almost 5000 years. They were first used in Asian, Mediterranean, and Egyptian civilizations. In South East Asia, historians have found remains of wind chimes made from bone, wood, bamboo, shells, jade, and bronze in about 3000 BCE. Ancient peoples may have thought chimes warded off evil spirits. A more practical use in Indonesia was to scare birds from crops.
Wind chimes at Chandigarh
Different cultures attribute unique meanings to wind chimes:
Today, you can still buy bone wind chimes, for example, on Etsy at prices ranging from $30 to $300.
Musical Rasps (Omichicahuaztli)
Close-up of the skull resonator, femur rasp and bone implement which Castañeda & Mendoza suggest is a shoulder-blade, from the Codex Vindobonensis
The musical rasp originated in Mesoamerica. It consists of a dried, striated deer bone or human femur that is scraped by a smaller bone to produce doleful sounds for the accompaniment of funeral dirges. Musicians sometimes held them above a resonating chamber, such as a conch shell or a skull, to amplify the sound. Amazing, what people will do to make music!
Some might quibble over calling it music. According to anthropologist Walter Krickeberg, Nahuatl people may have restricted funeral ceremonies to a sung dirge and the bone music of the omichicahuaztli, which he argues does not qualify as music.
What is not in dispute is the use of these instruments prior to the Spanish invasion.
“Several commentators have noted that instruments similar to the omichicahuaztli have continued to be used in modern times amongst the indigenous peoples of NW Mexico and SW United States, such as the Tarahumara (Rarámuri), Huichol, Pima, Hopi…), in some cases as magic instruments for bringing success in hunting, in others as medicinal tools used by shamans to speed a person’s recovery from illness.”
Flutes, made of bone and ivory, represent the earliest known musical instruments, clear evidence of prehistoric music. Archaeologists have discovered several such flutes in caves in Germany, dating to the European Upper Paleolithic, products of the Aurignacian culture.
This Aurignacian flute began life as the radius bone of a vulture. Between 35,000 and 43,000 years ago, a craftsman carved five finger holes into the hollow bone, allowing people to make music.
The vulture bone flute was not alone in Hoel Fels Cave. Specifically, archaeologists have also found two flutes made of mute swan bone and one made of wooly mammoth ivory.
Flutes made of bone, horn, ivory, etc. are available today online.
Mostly made of wood today, in their most basic form, bones are sections of animal rib bones—usually sheep or cow—between 5 and 7 inches long. Players hold them between their fingers, curved sides facing each other, and knock them together with flicks of their wrists. Experts can create a vast range of percussive sounds. You may have heard bones without realizing it.
In 1949, Freeman Davis, known as “Brother Bones,” recorded a version of the Jazz Age standard “Sweet Georgia Brown,” which became famous after the Harlem Globetrotters picked it up as their theme song three years later.
The bones have their roots in traditional Irish and Scottish music, and immigrants from those countries brought them to America, where they found a home in bluegrass and other folk genres. They’re similar to other clacking percussion instruments like the spoons, the Chinese paiban, and castanets.
Fun fact: Don’t confuse playing the bones with Bones playing! Nah’Shon Lee “Bones” Hyland, a former star of the VCU basketball team, plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves!
Jawbone (Quijada, Charrasca)
The jawbone as a musical instrument originated in Africa. It’s usually the jawbone of a zebra—or donkey, horse, mule, or cow—stripped of all flesh and dried to make the teeth so loose that they rattle around in their sockets. The jawbone came to the Americas along with the slave trade and was historically used in early American minstrel shows.
But it’s more than a simple rattle — players can create other sounds by striking the jawbone with a stick or rubbing wood across its teeth. Suz Slezak demonstrates several of these techniques here. Musicians use the jawbone throughout most of Latin America, including Mexico, Peru, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Cuba.
Fun fact: Martin B. Cohen designed the vibraslap to sound exactly like actual jawbones but with sturdier materials. He patented his design in 1969.
Bone Guitar
Artist Bruce Mahalski and guitar maker David Gilberd teamed up to build a bone guitar that features about 35 skulls. Super metal, yes, but not quite bony enough. It’s still, at its heart, a guitar. As far as I know, no such instruments are available for sale!
Bottom Line: Your skeleton does more than hold up your body. Human ingenuity has led people to create bone music!
Chances are your thoughts went to food: onions as components of soups and stews, casseroles or sandwiches. (If you eat red meat, you might try a toasted English muffin with mustard, a sausage patty, and a slice of onion. It used to be a staple at Bob Evans, and they’ll still make it on request.) You might even think of creamed onions.
from Mother Earth’s Children, 1914
For a few of you, The Onion: America’s Finest News Source might come to mind. As far as I know, this is the only (non-cooking) publication named for a vegetable. It’s a print/online parallel to late night comedy shows.
But for most of us, onions are, essentially, food.
In this blog, I want to explore other aspects of onions: the health benefits of eating onions and the symbolism of onions, and miscellaneous helpful uses.
Medicine from the Onion
Medicinal onions: although we don’t usually think of them in this way, onions have numerous health benefits.
Onions Have Many Antioxidants
They contain quercetin, a powerful antioxidant with antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. They help protect cells from oxidative stress. Onions may reduce the risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and cancer, and support immune system regulation
Onions help Regulate Blood Sugar Levels
Flavonoids in onions help stabilize glucose levels. They may improve insulin sensitivity. Onions help prevent energy crashes and spikes throughout the day. They support better metabolic control.
Onions are a great source of potassium, which aids muscle function and hydration. They contain manganese to support connective tissue and bone health. Onions also help regulate metabolism and energy production, and contribute to maintaining fluid balance in the body.
Anti-Inflammatory Properties
In general, anti-inflammatories are good things. Quercetin works as a natural anti-inflammatory agent, which may ease symptoms of arthritis by reducing joint stiffness and pain. Also, they have the potential to support urinary health by reducing inflammation. Indeed, they aid in fighting any systemic inflammatory condition.
Onions May Help With Cancer
Researchers have linked the organosulfur compounds in onions to anti-cancer effects, associated with reduced risk of colorectal, ovarian, and laryngeal cancers. Being rich in antioxidants helps protect DNA from damage. Overall, onions support detoxification processes in the body.
Onions May Reduce Risks of Alzheimer’s Disease
Quercetin may help protect brain cells from oxidative damage. Researchers have linked the quercetin in onions to a lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases. It also supports long-term memory and cognitive function. Overall, onions are an easy dietary addition to support brain longevity.
Onions Have Antibacterial Properties
A Venetian Boy Onion-Seller by Hilda Montalba
They’re rich in allicin, which has antibacterial and antifungal effects. They may help protect the colon and digestive tract from harmful microbes. Onions support overall gut balance and detoxification.
Overall, onions are a natural way to reinforce the body’s defenses. So, lots of reasons to eat onions. Raw onions retain more sulfur compounds and antioxidants before cooking, making them slightly more beneficial than cooked ones. However, both have useful health benefits.
No wonder people have used them in folk medicine as congestion, cough, and cold medicine for centuries. If you have some extra onions lying around, why not whip up an old-fashioned honey and onion cough syrup?
Onion Tears
Girl Chopping Onions by Gerrit Dou
Raw or cooked, onions typically involve slicing or chopping. Which often involves tears. If onion tears are a problem for you, you might want to watch this short video.
FYI, onion tears are chemically different from emotional tears. Indeed, your body produces a myriad of tears every day. Whether triggered by onions, allergies, intense emotion or just to keep your eyes from drying out, they’re all different. I don’t want to fall into a research rabbit hole, but you might want to explore on your own.
“Common Onion (Allium cepa) unity, macrocosm and microcosm, the ability to see the multilayeredness of reality, balance between all elements, finding comfort in the earth, emotional release, the symbolism and magic of tears, needing to defend yourself in a memorable way, connection to and protection of soldiers, oaths, treasuring the “simple” joys of life.
“Onions and garlic share much of the same mythology and folklore and totemically share similar attitudes about protection and defense.
“Onions and garlic have long been considered to bestow strength and endurance and were included in the diets of Egyptian slaves and Greek Olympians.
“The word “onion” is derived from the Latin word “unio” which means “unity” or “oneness”, and it is here that Onion’s most mystical teachings are found. The layers of onions have been referenced often in literature as a metaphor for discovering multiple facets of something or for uncovering a truth. Ancient Egyptians, who viewed the circles of the onion as a symbol for eternity, revered, perhaps even worshiped, onions.
Microscopic Onion Cells
“If the ancients discovered the Macrocosm in the onion, then, in a way, we in modern times are given our first glimpses of Microcosm in the same plant. Viewing dyed onion cells under a microscope is one of the first examples young biology students are given of the complexity of life on a microscopic level. In an almost poetic way Onion has helped many of us view yet another layer to life.
“If you choose (or are chosen) to become a student of Onion expect to learn much more than the lessons you first sought out. Onion is as multilayered spiritually as it is physically…. Onion is in equal measures earthy and mystical and students are likely to be asked to examine their lives in a very holistic manner that brings the two states into a harmonious union.”
Cromniomancy (Onion Divination)
The earliest written mention occurs in Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy. He referred to cromniomancies as a custom of laying onions on an altar on Christmas Eve in order to divine when someone will marry.
Cromniomancy usually involves interpreting the sprouting behavior of onions, after some kind of ritual to state the topic of the divination. This often involves inscribing the onions, dedicating them on an altar or something similar. But people can also perform cromniomancy in idiosyncratic ways not involving sprouting.
Historically, people across Europe, Africa, and northern Asia have performed cromniomancy. The sphere within a sphere of the onion made it a much-revered symbol of spirituality and eternity, to the extent that the ancient Egyptians took their sacred oaths with their right hand on an onion. There are many forms of cromniomancy, from divining the weather by the thickness of the skin, to gaining inside information.
Miscellaneous Onion Uses
Cleaning and Polishing
Onion Air!
Have rusty knives lying around that you are hesitant to use? Plunge your knife into a large raw onion and this will immediately remove rust.
Dirty, grimy, grill? No problem! Chop an onion in half, and then use a fork to hold half of the onion to scrub the grill.
In fact, onions are effective for polishing most metals. Crush a raw onion and combine it with equal part water. With a cloth, dab it on the metal surface. Rub until everything is shiny and clean.
Healing and Soothing Skin
The magical onion enzymes are also effective for “removing acne.” Mix crushed onion slices with water and apply to acne. The components of the onion are harsh on zits and effectively remove them.
The calming properties of onions can help in treating minor burns. Rub an onion on top of a burn to soothe the pain.
Fix Obnoxious Odors
Is the smell of new paint keeping you up all night? Rather than purchasing expensive room freshener, place several freshly cut slices of onion in a dish with a bit of water. Leave the bowl in the newly painted room overnight, it will combat the unpleasant, and sometimes unhealthy, odors of paints and varnishes.
Overcook your rice and want to get rid of that burnt smell that seeps into every corner of your house? Place half an onion next to the stove — it’ll absorb the smell.
Around the House
Onion Skins for Easter Egg Dye
Onion skins make great dyes! It’s as simple as wrapping eggs in onion skins, tying them up in a towel to secure them, and boiling as usual. They’ll come out with a beautiful, orange tint. Red onions will create a purplish-pink dye.
Bugs hate the pungent-smelling compound allicin found in onions — making it a perfect choice for natural and organic insect repellent. And making it is simple: blend two onions and a clove of garlic with a quart of water until smooth. Use cheesecloth to filter and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. There you have it — a nature-friendly insect repellent that will keep the pesky bugs away without harming your plants.
Bottom Line: Whether food or food for thought, magical or practical, onions have something for everyone!
