26th April: Pretzel Day

Today is Pretzel Day. Here are ten things you might not know about the popular snack:

1. Pretzel Day was started by Philadelphia governor Ed Rendell, who made the declaration that April 26 would be Pretzel Day in 2003. Pennsylvania is possibly the pretzel capital of the world - introduced by German and Swiss immigrants. While most Americans eat about two pounds of pretzels a year, in Pennsylvania they eat twelve. There's also a pretzel museum here, which opened in 1993.
2. Pretzels originated in Germany. The first known picture of one dates back to 1185 and appeared in the Hortus deliciarum from Alsace.
3. The word pretzel derives from the German word "Brezel" which may derive from the Latin word bracellus (a medieval term for "bracelet") or possibly bracchiola meaning "little arms".
4. They are thought to have originated as a treat for children given out by monks. Because the shape suggests a person praying with crossed arms, it was thought to have been given to children as a reward for saying their prayers.
5. A pretzel is a type of Bread, and they can be soft or hard. The hard ones originated in Pennsylvania (where else?) in 1850 when a 17th century baker over-cooked a batch - and ate them anyway.
6. Pretzels without salt are called “baldies”.
7. In Switzerland pretzels are a feature of the wedding ceremony. A couple break one and make a wish for good luck. It's thought the presence of pretzels in Swiss wedding ceremonies was the origin of the term "tie the knot".
8. In Germany, there is a tradition in which children tie pretzels on string around their necks at the beginning of the new year for luck.
9. Pretzels are associated with Easter, too, because they don't contain any of the foods traditionally banned during Lent, so it's okay to eat them during that period. They were sometimes hidden for children to find, rather like Easter Eggs are today.
10. The Guinness World Records' record for the largest pretzel weighed 382 kg (842 lbs), was 8.20 m (26 ft 10 in) long, and 3.10 m (10 ft 2 in) wide. It was made by Olaf Kluy and Manfred Keilwerth of Müller-Brot GmbH in Neufahrn, Germany, on 21 September 2008.

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