Pretzels For Breakfast

We had pretzels this morning before Palm Sunday Mass at the Co-Cathedral of The Sacred Heart [pictured]. Possibly unknown to much of the population, pretzels have deep-rooted religious symbolism.

[Food & Wine Magazine]

The pretzel’s origins date back at least over 1500 years. While the New York Times reported that a fifth-century illuminated manuscript in the Vatican featured what may be the first pretzel, most sources date the snack’s invention a century later. It was around 610 BCE when legend has it that, in a secluded monastery, in either Northern Italy or Southern France, lived a monk with a twisted sense of humor. As a reward to his students for learning their prayers, this monk handed out baked pieces of leftover bread twisted together to resemble crossed arms, a traditional prayer pose. He called them “petiole,” Latin for “little rewards.” The three-holed “petiole,” claimed the monk, represented the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Joseph Shanklin

Palm Sunday

April 10, 2022