Well the title says it all, this weeks Folksy Friday is all about Gingerbread, click on the links to take you to Folksy shops.
So where did gingerbread originate? There are lots of theories almost as many as there are gingerbread men. Some say it originated in the Middle East, from where wonderful spices were brought to the western world, but there are also references that go as far back as the ancient Greeks and Egyptians.
Queen Elizabeth I who's reign was 1558 – 1603 is often credited with the invention of the gingerbread man. She would have gingerbread men made for visiting dignitaries in their own likenesses.
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| Felt Gingerbread chefs |
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Gingerbread was so popular that William Shakespeare wrote in Love’s Labor’s Lost, “An I had but one penny in the world, thou shouldst have it to buy gingerbread.”
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| Ceramic Gingerbread Man |
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We like to see Gingerbread men as decorations for trees and on cards to send to family and friends.
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| Gingerbread Cards |
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The smell of it baking, mmmm conjures the memories Christmas time. The aroma the tastes and sight
of Gingerbread Men, Women and Houses are a feast for the eyes and delicious on the taste buds.
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| Gingerbread Men Bookends |
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Some say the tradition of making decorated gingerbread houses started in Germany in the early 1800s. According to certain researchers, the first gingerbread houses were the result of the well-known fairy tale "Hansel & Gretel" after the Brothers Grimm published Hansel and Gretel in 1812.
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| Wrapping Paper |
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But some say that The Brothers Grimm used the House in their story because it was already a popular tradition.  |
| Gingerbread House |
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| Gingerbread House Hanger |
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Click on the links under the above photo's to take you the Folksy Shops where you can see more deliciousness.
I'm off to have a yummy bit of Gingerbread with my coffee.
Jan x
