ENG BRETZEL VIR DECH! (Twists and turns ..)

Picture courtesy of www.oberweis.lu - Oberweis is patisserie/confiserie in Luxembourg

Did you receive a pretzel today?

In Luxembourg, we celebrate “Bretzel Sonndeg” (Pretzel Sunday) on the fourth Sunday of Lent ("Halleffaschten"). It is tradition for men of all ages to buy the twisted confection for their beloved. If the girl is inclined to return the affection, she will gift him with a decorated egg on Easter. As mentioned in a previous post, since this year is a Leap Year, the roles are reversed and the ladies will be the ones giving out the pretzels.

The "Letzebuerger Bretzel" (see picture) is a deliciously sweet pastry topped with almonds, nuts or chocolate and coated in sugar. You can find it in bakeries and supermarkets.

Throughout time the looped pretzel was used as a symbol of love and prosperity in many traditions and festivals. On May 1, young men in Germany used to paint a pretzel on the door of the adored. It is also speculated that the term “tying the knot” originated when a pretzel was used to represent the unity of marriage. Today, in some areas, people give each other sweet pretzels on New Year’s Day for good luck.

The bread pretzel is considered in Christian communities a Lenten and Easter food (devoid of any forbidden ingredients). Many suggest that the pretzel’s shape is reminiscent of arms folded in prayer.

Some historians say that the pretzel is one of the oldest snack foods. Popular legend has it that in the 6th century an Italian monk (sources differ as to the time and place) made them out of leftover bread as a reward for children who learnt their prayers. By the 12th century the pretzel was an emblem of bakers. In the 1500s, pretzel bakers of Vienna were awarded their own coat of arms (depicting a pretzel and a lion) after saving the city from the Turks.

The first pretzels were soft but today they come in many different variations, cold, warm, chewy, hard, sweet or savory and in all shapes and sizes.

Pretzels were first introduced to the US in the 18th century by German and Swiss immigrants. American pretzels are a popular snack, they are often soft, bread-like or hard and crispy sprinkled with salt.

Tidbits:

• Pennsylvania is the center of the pretzel production
• April 26 is National Pretzel Day in the US
• In 2002 President George W. Bush choked on a pretzel and fainted but quickly recovered.
• Marge Simpson owned a pretzel franchise in Episode 11 Season 8 of the Simpsons (The Twisted World of Marge Simpson)
• The expression “these pretzels are making me thirsty” is a Seinfeld reference (The Alternate Side), meaning, this makes me angry
• The pretzel is a move used in swing and square dancing
• The word “pretzel” is used to describe an idea, an attitude or an image

Stories are aplenty but undoubtedly “Bretzel Sonndeg” is a lovely tradition and this twisted pastry is a delectable treat.

Sources: Wikipedia, Absolute Astronomy

 366 DEEG AM JOER! (Let’s leap ..)

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
February has twenty-eight alone,
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting leap year, that's the time
When February's days are twenty-nine

(Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme)

2012 is a Leap Year/Bissextile year (Schaltjoer). A leap year consists of 366 days whereas common years have 365 days.

Earth orbits the sun every 365.2422 days (solar year). Leap years are needed to keep our Gregorian (civil) calendar in alignment with the Earth’s revolutions around the sun. Every four years 1 day is added, February 29, called leap day or intercalary day with one exception: century years are not leap years unless they can be evenly divided by 400.

The Egyptians first began using a calendar with a leap year during the Ptolemaic Dynasty (330-30 BC). Later, the Romans adopted this solution for their (Julian) calendar however the practice was inconsistent. It was not until 1582 when Pope Gregory introduced the Gregorian calendar that intercalary years became official.

Leap day traditions are a mix of folklore, myths and superstitions. Most seem to center around the custom that this was the one day when women were allowed to propose marriage to men without social restrictions. Legend dates this back to 5th Century Ireland when St. Brigid complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose. In 1288 Queen Mary of Scotland (allegedly) passed a law to allow women to propose to men, and if the proposal was rejected, a fine was incurred. By the late 1800s into the early 1900s, Leap Year themed parties, teas and dances and the sending of humorous postcards were amusing ways to celebrate the day.

In Luxembourg we have a somewhat similar tradition with “Bretzel Sonndeg” (Pretzel Sunday) which takes place on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Boyfriends offer their beloved a pretzel (dough pre-cooked in boiling water and knotted in a unique shape) and the girls will return the favor on Easter with a colored or a chocolate egg (more on "Bretzel Sonndeg" later). In a Leap Year, the roles are reversed.

As I mentioned in my previous post, during a Leap Year a Stréihfrächen (straw woman) is burnt in Remich on Ash Wednesday instead of a Stréihmännchen (straw man).

People born on February 29 are called “leaplings” or “leapers”. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Everybody should enjoy this extra day and ladies, look before you leap!