Nobody seems to know why, but the Romans used chives to tell fortunes. In the Middle Ages, it was thought that chives could ward off diseases and evil powers, and it was common practice for people to suspend bunches of them in their dwellings. Chives seem to have been popular with everyone except that skeptical 17th century herbalist Nicholas Culpeper, who warns, "If eaten raw they send up very harmful vapors to the brain, causing troublesome sleep and spoiling the eyesight."
The plant grows very easily, either wild or cultivated, and is now found on all continents. In the early days, the Dutch settlers planted chives in their pastures; they used to call it "the Little Brother of the Onion") so that their cows would give chive-flavored milk. When the plant starts flowering, it produces only two colors, either white or purple. The leaves are hollow and are harvested very close to the ground, so that they will grow back rapidly.
From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
