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"  April 26 is National Pretzel Day! To celebrate, we&amp;#039;re taking a look back at the savory snack&amp;#039;s history as one of our nation&amp;#039;s favorite go-to bites. The exact year pretzels were created is not know for certain, but many sources suggest that they were probably invented by Christian monks sometime around 610 A.D. Lore has it that Italian monks, seeking a way to reward children for learning their prayers, shaped strips of baked dough to resemble arms crossing the chest and gave them out as treats. According to The History of Science and Technology, by Bryan Bunch and Alexander Hellemans, these were called &amp;quot;pretiola,&amp;quot; or &amp;quot;little rewards.&amp;quot; Other sources claim that pretzels were invented in Spain, and still others say southern France. What we do know, however, is that once they made their way to Austria and Germany, pretzels were molded and refined by the culinary talents in almost every city in the region. More From Delish: 11 Perfect Pretzel Recipes Those pretzels \u2014 the blueprint for what we call &amp;quot;soft pretzels&amp;quot; today \u2014 had inherent religious associations, but they also came to be associated with Lent because they didn&amp;#039;t use eggs or dairy products, which were traditionally prohibited during the period of fasting and restriction. While the soft pretzel was most likely created by a Christian monk, the hard &amp;quot;Bavarian&amp;quot; pretzel was created thanks to a happy accident. Legend has it that some time around the 1660s, an apprentice in a Pennsylvania bakery fell asleep on the job and overcooked a batch of pretzels, creating seemingly inedible, hard knots. The master baker was surprised when, upon crunching into the pretzel, it turned out to be not only edible but delightful as well. And thus the hard pretzel was born. More From Delish: 17 Weird Food Holidays Fast forward several hundred years, and pretzels have become somewhat of a snack sector staple. Found in almost every sports arena and on the streets of almost every big city in the U.S., and of course, an already integral part of the German baking tradition for centuries, it looks like this &amp;quot;little treat&amp;quot; has become a big reward for all of its hungry fans today. Read on for a few facts you may not know about this wonderfully chewy (or crunchy) snack, and check out some of our favorite pretzel-based recipes! The Pretzel Truth  Auntie Anne&amp;#039;s makes more than 500,000 pretzels every two days, which is enough to feed the entire population of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The average U.S. citizen consumes up to two pounds of pretzels per year, but Philadelphians snack on about 12 pounds of pretzels per person every year. Joey &amp;quot;Jaws&amp;quot; Chestnut, of Nathan&amp;#039;s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest fame, is also the 2007 World Pretzel-Eating Champion. He ate 21 soft pretzels in ten minutes.  Pretzels On Your Plate Chocolate Pretzels    A sprinkle of coarse sanding sugar embellishes this sweet version of the beloved salty snack. Hot Soft Pretzels    Hot Soft Pretzels &amp;quot;right from the oven&amp;quot; make a satisfying snack especially with cheese and mustard dipping sauce. Peanut Butter Cup and Pretzel Terrine    As fun as it is tasty, this terrine is a playful take on the traditional (and usually fancy) layered frozen dessert. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/food/news/a39374/national-pretzel-day/>