Gingerbread House Day is Dec.12

GINGERBREAD HOUSE DAY

Gingerbread House Day is observed annually on December 12. A favorite food of an Armenian monk, Gregory of Nicopolis, brought gingerbread to Europe around 992 AD and taught French Christians to bake it. Gingerbread was often used in religious ceremonies and was baked to be sturdy as it was often molded into images of saints. We can thank the Brothers’ Grimm for the idea of a gingerbread house through their tale of Hansel and Gretel. It didn’t take long for the German gingerbread guilds to pick up the idea and put it to a more festive use making snowy cottages made from the spicy-sweet treat. It is believed gingerbread was first baked in Europe at the end of the 11th century when returning crusaders brought back the custom of spicy bread from the Middle East. Ginger was not only tasty; it had properties that helped preserve bread

The Delicious and Colorful History of Gingerbread House Day

It is believed gingerbread was first baked in Europe at the end of the 11th century when returning crusaders brought back the custom of spicy bread from the Middle East. Ginger was not only tasty; it had properties that helped preserve bread. According to a French legend, gingerbread was brought to Europe in 992 A.D. by the Armenian monk and later saint, Gregory of Nicopolis (Gregory Makar). Gingerbread figurines date back to the 15th century and baking human-shaped biscuits was practiced in the 16th century. The tradition of making decorated gingerbread houses started in Germany in the early 1800's. According to certain researchers, the first gingerbread houses were the result of the well-known Grimm's fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. In modern times the tradition has continued in certain places in Europe. In Germany, the Christmas ma)rkets still sell decorated gingerbread before Christmas. (Lebkuchenhous or Pfefferkuchenhaus are the German terms for a gingerbread house.

How to Celebrate Gingerbread House Day

Get the family together, pick up the supplies necessary to make a gingerbread house.. Bake up some gingerbread and start building and decorating your very won gingerbread house.