Gingerbread man

We all know the gingerbread man as something that comes with Christmas and the holidays. Not many people know that the Gingerbread Man story actually started as a present for someone special and had nothing to do with Christmas. It was Queen Elizabeth I who came up with the idea of ​​'dressing up' men made of gingerbread when special guests of nobility came to visit her. A special gift for a special person. Soon decorating gingerbread shapes became a hype. Gingerbread men were handed out during Gingerbread Fairs, festivals where gingerbread played a leading role. The shapes of gingerbread men differed seasonally. In the summer, for example, the bakers baked beautiful flowers that were decorated with gold leaf.