The holiday season is here, and at GiftWorksPlus, we couldn’t be more excited! It’s the time of year for sharing memories with loved ones and appreciating all those important people in our daily lives. It’s also a time for reaching out and catching up with those we don’t get to see as often as we’d like.
The holidays are also a time for taking part in beloved traditions. One in particular is the building of a gingerbread house. Everyone enjoys a holiday activity that results in a tasty treat, so this week, we’re sharing a bit about the origin of this festive activity that you may not know:
The History of the Gingerbread House:
- The first known recipe for gingerbread actually dates back as early as 2400 BC and was made in Greece.
- Fast-forward a few dozen centuries, and Chinese recipes for gingerbread emerged as well as an appreciation for gingerbread in Europe during the Middle Ages.
- The cookies became hugely popular at Medieval fairs, and it was actually Queen Elizabeth I who came up with the idea of decorating them.
- The process of decorating these cookies actually inspired something called Gingerbread Fairs.
- These elaborately decorated cookies actually inspired architectural details seen in colonial style homes. The white carvings seen on such homes are described as “gingerbread work.”
- The first gingerbread houses came from Germany, gaining much popularity with the fairytale “Hansel and Gretel.”
Although an old tradition, building creative gingerbread houses is still a fun activity to share with new generations of bakers! If you decide to try your hand at creating a gingerbread house or gingerbread man this year, remember to document your treat-inspired architectural adventures with plenty of photos.
Aside from building gingerbread houses, another tradition that exists in just about everyone’s holiday celebration is giving thoughtful and unique gifts. That is where we at GiftWorksPlus can help you out. With personalized frames in themes ranging from
family frames to school frames, and pet frames to, of course,
holiday frames, we can help you cross off every name on your shopping list!
