Today Is National Pretzel Day
(Undated) -- Today is a holiday with a twist. It's National Pretzel Day. There are at least a couple of pretzel origin stories and they're both about religion. According to one, pretzels were invented in 610 A.D. by an Italian monk as a reward for children who learned their prayers, the baked dough folded to resemble arms crossing the chest in prayer. Another version has pretzels invented in a monastery in southern France.
Pretzels were introduced to North America in the 19th century by Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants, who actually were German. The observance of April 26th as National Pretzel Day began in 2003 with a declaration by then-Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.