24 Days of Martin Day 17 Gingerbread

Martin and his friends, Otto and Mags, along with their classmates, head down the hallway from the lunch room into the library.  Everyone is excited because Miss Phoebe has promised to read them a special story today.  As they all settled down into their seats, Miss Phoebe placed the book in her lap.  Before starting to read, she says, “This is a very special story published a long time ago in 1812.  It popularized a Christmas tradition that started in the 1500s, before the story was ever passed down and retold.”

As Miss Phoebe continued with the background tales behind the story she was going to read, Martin leaned over to Otto and Mags and whispered, “I’ll bet you dessert at lunch all next week, this story will end up being about Germany.”

“How do you know that?” they whispered back.  “It’s always about Germany.”, Martin sighed.

Miss Phoebe finished her background tales, picked up the book from her lap, and turned it around to show the class.  The cover was elaborately illustrated and showed two children, a boy and a girl, holding hands, walking on a winding path leading out of a forest.  The forest seemed dark and dense and was colored with dark shades of green, rich browns, and deep navy blues. The children were dressed in dark grey-toned shorts with grey shirts.  The little girl had a yellow bonnet over her hair, and the little boy had a yellow hat balanced on his head. 

Martin groaned.  Miss Phoebe flashed Martin a puzzled look.  He said nothing.

“Let’s begin,” started Miss Phoebe.  “Hansel and Gretel, a folk story originally told to the Brothers Grimm, and translated by ….”

Martin could not believe it.  This time, Germany wasn’t just a part of the history of a Christmas tradition; it WAS the tradition.

THREE HOURS LATER

As Martin was in the kitchen eating his after-school snack, Mom noticed he was much quieter than usual.  “Anything wrong at school today?”, she asked as she placed more grapes on his plate.

“Miss Phoebe read us “Hansel and Gretel” today.”, whined Martin.

Mom, just stared at Martin, then started laughing.  “Germany?” she said thru continued laughter.

“Germany.”, replied Martin.

“Still no idea where this resistance to Germany being part of Christmas traditions is coming from?”, she asked.

Martin shrugged his reply: “I don’t know.”

“Hansel and Gretel is a good story, and gingerbread houses are a wonderful tradition.  It’s why we build one on Christmas Eve.” Mom said soothingly trying to comfort Martin.

“Did Miss Phoebe explain about how gingerbread actually started in China?  China was growing ginger plants around 5,000 years ago.  They harvested the roots to use in medicines.  The global trade routes brought ginger root to Rome, Egypt, and Greece.  Honey-sweetened cakes using ginger root date back to 4,000 years ago in Egypt.  Greeks made a similar honey cake with sesame and other spices.  Crusaders returning from the Middle East brought gingerbread as we know it to Europe near the end of the 11th century.  Using ginger in the bread helped preserve it so it would last the long trip home.

 In 1643, 14 members were sworn into the first guild, and they became known as “Lebküchner.”  At the creation of this guild, with the exception of Christmas and Easter, only professional gingerbread bakers were allowed to bake gingerbread.  This is when gingerbread houses started to appear in the windows of gingerbread bakeries.

The Lebküchner of Nuremberg kept their recipes secret and fiercely guarded them.  The only way to gain new members into the Lebküchner was from within existing member families or through marriage.  Existing Lebküchner members were not allowed to leave the city.  Today, Nürnberger holds the title of ‘Gingerbread Capital of the World’, and the designation “Nürnberger Lebkuchen” is protected under European law, preserving the authenticity of the original gingerbread recipes.

Gingerbreads were sold in specialty shops, seasonal markets, and outside of churches on Sundays.  These decorated treats were often treats for adults, given to children or a loved one as a token of affection, and were distributed to guests at weddings. 

Initially, honey-sweetened cakes and gingerbread were shaped into squares.   The first record of gingerbread shaped as a person was in the 16th century, when the English Queen Elizabeth I had gingerbread figures made into the shapes of her important guests.”

Mom looked at Martin, who was still unusually quiet.   He had fallen asleep with his head down on the table.  She grinned, picked up his plate, and quietly placed it in the sink.

As she was walking into the living room, the front door opened, and Dad walked in.  “I’m home early,” he announced. “We’re being given extra time off to spend with our families between now and Christmas.”

“Wonderful!” exclaimed Mom.  Then she lowered her voice and looked towards the kitchen.  “Martin fell asleep at the table.  He had a, um, ‘day’ at school today and is a bit tired.”

“What happened?”, asked Dad.

“Germany.”, replied Mom.

Dad looked at her quizzically.  Mom laughed, “Come, I’ll tell you all about it as you change out of those work clothes.”

Mom sat on the edge of the bed as Dad pulled off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt.  He slipped his belt off his pants, sat down and sighed.  “Ahhhh, that feels so much better!  Now, while I put on a t-shirt and comfy pants, tell me what happened at school today.”

Mom told Dad all about Miss Phoebe reading Hansel and Gretel.  Then she explained how she was telling Martin about how ginger was originally from China, how it migrated to Rome, Egypt, and Greece, and then made its way to Europe and Germany.

“I was hoping he would be happy Germany didn’t have gingerbread first,” she explained.  “But right as I was getting to the part where gingerbread men were invented, I looked up, and he was asleep.”

Shaking his head and chuckling softly, “I bet hearing Nürnberg is the ‘Gingerbread Capital of the World’ part really sent him over the edge.”

“I’m not sure if he had fallen asleep by then.  Although German settlers brought the tradition of gingerbread to the United States, I was just about to tell him about gingerbread men and how the story “The Gingerbread Man,” which is actually an American fairy tale from 1875.  Combined with the publication of “Hansel and Gretel” 50 years earlier in 1812, Gingerbread Houses started becoming more and more popular, and today there are annual Gingerbread Houses building competitions.  The oldest and most famous competition in the US is held at The Omni Grove Park in Asheville, NC and started in 1992.  The Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs, while not always hosting competitions, has been displaying elaborate gingerbread house displays since 1964.  

“Did you know the owner of the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest Gingerbread House is also American?” Dad asked, sitting down on the bed beside Mom.  Mom shook her head “no”.

“In November  2013, the Texas A&M ‘Traditions Club’ in Bryan, Texas, built a 2,520-square-foot (234 m2) edible-walled gingerbread house.  It was over 60 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 20 feet tall. The gingerbread house ingredients included 2,925 pounds (1,327 kg) of brown sugar, 1,800 pounds (820 kg) of butter, 7,200 eggs and 7,200 pounds (3,300 kg) of general-purpose flour.  They built it to raise money for a new trauma center for St. Joseph’s Hospital.  And the oldest gingerbread house village is in Bergen, Norway.  Beginning in 1991, schoolchildren, local businesses, and many volunteers have participated in building the gingerbread village each year.  When complete, the gingerbread village has over 2,000 gingerbread structures, including miniature houses, trains, vehicles, a football stadium, and fairy tunnels.”

“I’m sure Martin will find those two facts quite amazing once he wakes up from his nap.”, began Mom.  “Let’s quietly go get something to drink, and we can sit in the living room while you tell me about your day.”

“Sounds like a wonderful plan.”, smiled Dad.  We can wake up Martin in an hour or so if he hasn’t woken by then.”  He held out his hand as Mom stood up.  She took his hand, and they quietly walked back into the kitchen, smiling at Martin as he dreamed, they hoped, not about Germany.