Easter Activities - Easter Pretzels

Easter Activities - Easter Pretzels
Introduce children and youth to the Easter traditions
and symbolism associated with Pretzels.
www.CreativeEasterIdeas.com
www.CreativeYouthIdeas.com

There are many traditions and stories surrounding the
food we know today as a “pretzel” and it is difficult to
separate the facts from the legends. The exact origin of
the pretzel is unknown and, like the doughy treat, its
history takes many twists and turns.

“Little Rewards” and “Little Arms”
One tradition says that as early as 610 AD, monks
somewhere in Southern France or Northern Italy offered
pretzels to children as a “little reward” for memorizing
their Bible verses and saying their prayers.

The monks appropriately called it a pretiola, Latin for
“little reward”. At some
point pretiola became brachiola, which is Italian for
“little arms” because the pretzel looks like arms folded
in prayer. Eventually if found it way to Germany and
became known as a Bretzel or Pretzel.

Food during Lent
Since many pretzel recipes didn’t contain any of the
ingredients that were avoided during the pre-Easter
Lent season – eggs, milk, butter, lard – the pretzel
became a popular Lenten food throughout the Middle
Ages. Pretzels are still part of the Easter celebrations in
many European countries.

Good Luck, Prosperity, Spiritual wholeness
In 1440 AD a page in the prayer book used by
Catharine of Cleves depicted St. Bartholomew
surrounded by pretzels. They had come to represent
the good luck, prosperity and spiritual wholeness.

Everlasting Life and Rebirth
A decade later in 1450, Germans ate pretzels and hard-
boiled eggs for dinner on Good Friday – the day of
fasting. The large, puffy pretzel symbolized everlasting
life, and the two hard-boiled eggs, nestled in each of the
large round curves of the pretzel, represented Easter’s
rebirth.

Hidden Treat
Soon, at Easter, the pretzel was hidden with two hard-
boiled eggs for children to find. This is likely the origin of
the Easter Egg Hunt we now associate with Easter, with the
difference being now we hide the eggs instead of the
pretzels. As pretzels and eggs were often hidden in the hay
of a barn, baskets filled with hay were later introduced as
part of the festivities.

Hard Pretzels
The hard pretzel seems to have been introduced later.
While it may have simply been the result of a recipe
for the season of Lent, another story says that a
baker’s assistant fell asleep while preparing the
pretzels and overcooked them.

The Master Baker, in the process of throwing out the
spoiled pretzels, decided to taste one of the spoiled
brown treats. He discovered he liked the nutty flavor
and crunchy taste and realized they would keep longer
since the moisture had been completely baked out.

Pretzels as an Easter Symbol
Regardless of the true origins, a pretzel turned upside
down does look like arms folded in prayer and the
three holes could be used as a symbol of the trinity.
Pretzels also resemble a heart and thus can be a
reminder of the love God showed when Jesus was
crucified for the sins of the world.

As the pretzel is broken and eaten, we are reminded that
Christ in the Passover meal said that his body would be
broken. Some pretzel recipes consist only of water and
flour, thus proclaiming Lent as a time of fasting and
penitence. In many places of Europe, pretzels are served
only from Ash Wednesday to Easter, thus keeping the
ancient symbolism alive.

Children’s Sermon
Introduce the Children to an Easter basket filled with
pretzels and eggs. When you get questioning looks and
discussion about the presence of the pretzels, tell them
about the history of the treat, the symbolism, and then
give each one a pretzel to eat and as a reminder of so
many Easter truths.

Variation
Instead of an Easter Egg Hunt, hide small snack size packets of
pretzels. Alternatively, wrap the pretzels in plastic wrap and
then hide them. Kids will be curious as to why pretzels have
been hidden instead of eggs. Then introduce them to the
Easter traditions and symbolism associated with the tasty
treat.

Easter Collection
Games and Activities in celebration of
Easter.
Get more than 80 creative ideas for planning
a Youth Easter celebration or Easter Party.
You can immediately download my best
Easter Icebreakers, games, illustrations,
Easter activity ideas AND MUCH MORE in a
useful ebook!
=> Tell me more about the Easter Collection

Easter Activities - Easter Pretzels

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Similar to Easter Activities - Easter Pretzels

Similar to Easter Activities - Easter Pretzels (20)

More from Ken Sapp

More from Ken Sapp (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Easter Activities - Easter Pretzels