From Mother Earth News:

Esteemed by the Greek god Apollo, cultivated by Egyptian pyramid builders and eaten for breakfast by American settlers, the radish has been around forever. It was prescribed by physicians to prevent scurvy, used by herbalists to ward off women's chatter, and salted or pickled to accompany food and drink throughout recorded time.

The radish is still so revered there is a Night of the Radish— LaNoche de los Rabanos —every December 23 in Oaxaca, Mexico. Local farmers grow giant white winter radishes, which are carved into sculptures worthy of a museum. Radish bullfighters, radish nativity scenes, radish Madonnas and more line the village square, while merry makers dance and eat—radish tamales, radish empanadas and radish pickles —until midnight, when one radish sculpture is awarded the grand prize.