Another story goes back to the 5th century when monks gave pretzels to youngsters during Holy Week to remind them to pray more. Inverted, the pretzel looked like arms folded in prayer. The word pretzel in that version derived from “pracelli”, meaning arms.

In 1858, Pennsylvania Germans located in Freeport, bringing with them their taste for beer and pretzels. The Billerbeck Bakery’s pretzel became so famous that Freeport was called “Pretzel City,” and this is NO LEGEND!