The gingerbread traditions come from Germany, France, the Netherlands, and the British Isles. Today we created Gingerbread People yard ornaments for our Yule decorations. We are continuing our Hansel & Gretel gingerbread house decorations for the yard. In previous years we created Peppermint Lollipops, Gum Drop Borders, and now GingerBread People. In the 1800s the Grimm Brothers published some dark fairytales that they had heard over the years. One of those tales was Hansel and Gretel, a story of two young kids who got lost in the forest. They happened to find a witch's layer which was disguised as a gingerbread house decorated with candies. This is probably the easiest decoration ever. The Chinese first cultivated ginger and used it as a medical treatment. From there, it spread to Europe, and during the Middle Ages, cooks used it. Gingerbread and the shapes it take have a long history. An early form of gingerbread can be traced to the ancient Greeks and Egyptians who used it for ceremonial purposes. This tradition of the gingerbread sculpture goes back to an Armenian monk who brought it to Europe in 992. The popularity of gingerbread during the holidays is because the spices heated you in the winter. The earliest versions of gingerbread were honey cakes. An early European recipe for gingerbread consisted of ground almonds, stale breadcrumbs, rosewater, sugar, and, naturally, ginger. The resultant paste was pressed into wooden molds. The spices that were added would change over time, as the popularity and availability of spices varied. It wasn't made specifically for the holiday season till the 17th century though. During Henry VIII’s time, bakers brought out expensive ingredients at Christmas and started experimenting with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. Queen Elizabeth I, of England, was the first to shape gingerbread into men, representing the foreign dignitaries and the diplomats she would serve the dessert to at fancy dinners. Even today, we use ginger as an effective remedy for nausea and other stomach ailments. It is believed that Roman men ate anatomically correct honey cakes before orgies to stimulate their sexual appetites. GingerBread People DecorMaterials 12 x 8 2 inch thick insulation foam X-exacto knife Brown spray paint Paint Pens Decorations for eyes and buttons: Lids, containers, etc. Instructions: Draw gingerbread man shape on the 12 x 8 2 inch thick insulation foam Cut out gingerbread man shape from insulation foam Spray paint gingerbread cut out with brown paint Let dry Draw using the paint pens the outline of the Ginger Bread People Use old lids, containers, and other things lying around the house for face and buttons Attach a piece of wood to bottom of gingerbread man and slide over stake to display in yard “We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.”
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November 2023
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