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Pretzels for God: Lent and the Pretzel

Incorporating pretzels into our Lenten program is a wonderful and appropriate devotion. The pretzel being symbolic of prayer and penance is a small but powerful instrument in bringing families to God. This activity includes the history and the significance of pretzels, and a short family ceremony of the pretzel.

Please see Catholic Icing for an excellent recipe and pretzel card.

Directions

Lent is a period of fasting, self-denial and prayer, in imitation of our Lord's fasting, forty days and forty nights, and in preparation for the feast of Easter. It comprises forty days, not including Sundays, from Ash Wednesday to the end of Holy Saturday. The term "penance" should be made clear to children. It means a "change of heart," a victory over sin and a striving for holiness. The sacrifices of fasting and self-denial are only means and signs of this spiritual penance.

A traditional means of reminding the family that it is the holy season of Lent is the Lenten foods which are served only this time of the year. Thus parents and children realize, even at their meals, that prayer and penance should be practiced during these days.

The pretzel has a deep spiritual meaning for Lent. In fact, it was the ancient Christian Lenten bread as far back as the fourth century. In the old Roman Empire, the faithful kept a very strict fast all through Lent: no milk, no butter, no cheese, no eggs, no cream and no meat. They made small breads of water, flour and salt, to remind themselves that Lent was a time of prayer. They shaped these breads in the form of crossed arms for in those days they crossed their arms over the breast while praying. Therefore they called the breads "little arms" (bracellae). From this Latin word, the Germanic people later coined the term "pretzel."

Thus the pretzel is the most appropriate food symbol in Lent. It still shows the form of arms crossed in prayer, reminding us that Lent is a time of prayer. It consists only of water and flour, thus proclaiming Lent as a time of fasting. The earliest picture and description of a pretzel (from the fifth century) may be found in the manuscript-codex No. 3867, Vatican Library.

That many people eat pretzels today all through the year, that they take them together with beer in taverns and restaurants, is only an accidental habit. In many places of Europe, pretzels are served only from Ash Wednesday to Easter, thus keeping the ancient symbolism alive.

There seems to be no reason why our Christian families should not return to this beautiful custom of our ancient Roman fellow- Christian, especially since we still have these breads everywhere. The children will be delighted and greatly impressed when they hear the true story of the pretzel

Ceremony of the Pretzel

1. On Ash Wednesday, father or mother may explain the origin of the holy pretzel, so that the children will understand its significance.

2. The pretzel might be served on each plate for each evening meal until Easter.

3. Added to the grace before meals, is the following "pretzel prayer":

PRAYER

We beg you, O Lord, to bless these breads which are to remind us that Lent is a sacred season of penance and prayer. For this very reason, the early Christians started the custom of making these breads in the form of arms crossed in prayer. Thus they kept the holy purpose of Lent alive in their hearts from day to day, and increased in their souls the love of Christ, even unto death, if necessary.

Grant us, we pray, that we too, may be reminded by the daily sight of these pretzels to observe the holy season of Lent with true devotion and great spiritual fruit. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

--With ecclesiastical approbation.

Activity Source: Pretzels for God by Unknown, Pretzels for God, St. Francis Xavier Church, 4715 N. Central, Phoenix, AZ 85012

Whole Wheat Bread

Just as a mother has an excellent opportunity to point up a feast day with special foods, so in Lent she can teach the discipline of fasting by her lack of fancy cooking. If a healthy penitential attitude is to grow with our children, it should be fed with their daily Lenten bread.

For generations the human body has profited by the self-restraint of certain prescribed fasts. Giving up sweets never hurt any child; undoubtedly, it did their teeth a lot of good. If a young person once gets the thrill of being master of his desires, if he can take it or leave it, if he can deny himself in order to give to another, he has learned the lessons of Lent. But the mother can set the stage, or shall we say the table, so that this struggle with self can be fought bravely.

Through sacrifice, Christians are made and Lent is a good time to begin. The Lenten menu becomes very simple and basic. It is built on bread, vegetables and eggs. Let us first speak of bread. It is a platitude to describe white bread as the staff of life. Consider the very start of life itself. Obstetricians instruct their patients to eat only whole wheat bread. But where is the mother-to-be to find such a thing? She won't find it at the corner grocery. There may be a health food store in a town of 100,000 which bakes a whole grain loaf at 23 cents, but that is not for the majority nor for the poor. The only other thing to do is to find a reputable miller who grinds whole wheat flour and try your hand at baking. We do not bake whole wheat bread because we like to be primitives or quaint. We know whole wheat bread tastes better and is better for health and growth The work entailed will benefit our bodies and souls as well.

The word lady means "loaf giver," and as a giver of loaves she shows her love. The story of wheat and its renewal into real, honest, life-sustaining bread is an example of one of the most beautiful liturgical symbols. It is a work project in which all members of the family can share. All can rise to higher things along with the loaf during the Lenten season.

At any rate, this Lent try baking whole wheat bread for your family. Begin it as a penitential act, if you must, an act which may take you away from your bridge game. I'll be willing to wager that your family won't let you stop. Then in the morning when all your fast allows is dry bread, see how rich and good your own bake will taste. Your bread will be a staff of life to lean upon and not a cracked and crooked crutch.

The recipe which we have found practically foolproof makes six good sized loaves. We bake this quantity, then wrap the excess and place it in the freezer. There the bread is kept as fresh as when it was first baked.

DIRECTIONS

Scald and cool milk. Add salt, molasses and fat. Stir in eight cups of flour and beat until smooth. (If you have an electric mixer, let it beat the dough until it is stiff.)

Dissolve yeast in water for 10 minutes. Add yeast and remaining flour to the first dough. Knead and let rise until double in bulk. Knead again, shape into six loaves and put into 5 by 9 inch bread pans. Let rise until double in bulk. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven up to 400° and bake for 45 minutes or until brown.

Recipe Source: Cooking for Christ by Florence Berger, National Catholic Rural Life Conference, 4625 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50310, 1949, 1999