The legend of the pretzel dates back to about 1,400 years ago. There was once an Italian monk who was frustrated with his students. He wanted the children to memorize Bible verses and prayers, but they were having trouble concentrating. The monk decided to bribe the young students with snacks. He used leftover bread dough and twisted it into shapes that looked like arms crossed in prayer. The monk baked the snacks and gave them to his students if they worked hard. The snacks were called “pretiola”, meaning little reward in Latin. Other accounts suggest that the shape of the pretzel was meant to look like a knot. The English expression “to tie the knot” may be related to pretzels. The newlywed tradition of breaking a pretzel in half and eating it for good luck began in Switzerland in the 1600s.