Why do people make gingerbread houses

How did the gingerbread house tradition get started? How were gingerbread houses incorporated into Christmas? Fun Facts about Gingerbread Houses Gingerbread houses are an excellent way to celebrate both creativity and bring in the new year. It is said that Gingerbread houses can be traced as far back as Ancient Greece and Egypt. Gingerbread is said to have been invented by a monk to help cure indigestion. It is said that Queen Elizabeth I came up with the concept of the gingerbread man after wanting to present them to visiting officials as gifts.

Gingerbread is unique in that it uses honey and molasses as the base sweetner instead of sugar. In the city of Bergen in Norway, they make an entire city of gingerbread houses annually. It is tradition that unmarried women in England would often eat gingerbread men for good luck in meeting a husband. In Sweden, gingerbread was thought to have brought good luck, and people would use them to make wishes.

While gingerbread houses are widely popular in North America and Europe, it never saw much popularity in the United Kingdoms The largest gingerbread house in the world is 60 feet by 42 feet and is worth 35 million calories, constructed with Hershey bars, feet of twizzlers, pounds of tootsie rolls, whirly pops and thousands of other assorted candies. A doctor once wrote a prescription for gingerbread for the Swedish King to cure his depression Wilton is the largest gingerbread house kit manufacturer in the U.

The cookie is native to Nuremberg, where the bakers guard their recipe like a family treasure. The cookies were baked by local monks in the 14th century, and thanks to great local ingredients their reputation grew.

The city recognized them by making an official League of Lebkuchen-Bakers in , and has developed strict guidelines that ensure these cookies are still a sought after delicacy today. Originally, gingerbread was made with honey, ginger and breadcrumbs. But you can find almost as many variations to this recipe as you can find houses made out of the gingerbread itself.

News U. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. In it had more than 2, individual buildings that lit up, as well as ships, cars and a train. But only 1, of the structures were made of gingerbread, and it was denied the record for including non-edible components.

Its picturesque and well-preserved historic centre has gabled half-timbered buildings in yellow and peach, a church, a little town square and cobbled streets. The intricate, fully lit city includes city farm, museum, school, sports stadium, botanical gardens, opera house, cable car and even a microbrewery.

Its theme this year is Imagining the Future City, aiming to encourage visitors to think how our cities could be more inclusive and sustainable.

Schedule a Tour. Although it seems so simple, here are a few reasons why you should build gingerbread houses with your littles ones. Sunshine House Find a Location Programs. Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy.