31 Awesome Facts About Gingerbread Houses We Bet You Never Knew!

When it is Christmas time, how can you not feel the urge to make gingerbread houses, gingerbread men, and make the most of the holiday season?

Christmas time is all about spending some quality time with family. But do you know making gingerbread houses during the Christmas holiday season is a tradition that has been practiced for many years?

Gingerbread has been seen as a symbol of good luck and good fortune. Not only the gingerbread house, but we can also make anything out of gingerbread, such as gingerbread men during the Christmas holiday season.

But why is the recipe for a gingerbread house only prepared during the Christmas holiday season? According to the facts, gingerbread was only available during Christmas time, making it a popular holiday treat.

Aren’t these facts about gingerbread houses interesting? So let’s indulge more in these facts. A gingerbread house is an edible house made during Christmas and is considered a holiday treat. A gingerbread house is made of cookie dough which is then given the shape of a house. During this preparation, royal icing is used as the glue that holds the house together and helps the candies stick to the walls and roof.

The gingerbread house recipe was first invented during the 16th century in Germany, where the popular gingerbread house first appeared in the Hansel and Gretel fairytale. Seeing this gingerbread house, people started making their own gingerbread houses, and it soon became a tradition.

Being a tasty treat, the gingerbread man or the gingerbread house could also be eaten anytime during the year. Though, when you have them during the holiday season, the fun and enjoyment would reach another level altogether.

If you want to know more about gingerbread cooking, read on for some incredible facts about gingerbread houses. Afterward, reading all about the gingerbread, also check out French foreign legion facts and old Spanish trail facts. 

The Story Behind Gingerbread Houses

Well, we all know what a gingerbread house is and what it looks like, but do we know the story behind a gingerbread house and how the gingerbread house tradition got started? So, here are some awesome facts about gingerbread houses that you will get to know more about.

• We all know that ginger has many medicinal properties, but the ginger root was first used in ancient China as a preservative for meat.
• Then gradually, gingerbread cookies became popular at gingerbread fairs held in Western Europe. Those cookies which were served at gingerbread fairs were called fairings.
• Fairings were then decorated with gold leaf, and this decoration with gold leaf became popular where people gradually came to know about gingerbread houses.
• The word gingerbread is an old French word that means preserved ginger.
• The recipe of the gingerbread house became popular during the 16th century in Germany, where the German bakers thought of making gingerbread houses inspired by the fairy tale story of Hansel and Gretel.
• Even though making gingerbread cookies shaped into animals was already popular, Queen Elizabeth I proposed making gingerbread queens. It is also said that the concept of the gingerbread man was first proposed by Queen Elizabeth I.

The Most Famous Gingerbread House

Everyone, from kids to adults, is engaged in this fun activity during Christmas time. Making a gingerbread house has always been a tradition, but nowadays, every one of them tries to make this edible house more attractive and creative. Do you want to know more about the facts about gingerbread houses? Read on for some interesting facts.

• One of the most famous and the world’s largest gingerbread house was made in Texas (Holiday cheer in Texas) in 2012 in Bloomington, Minnesota’s Mall of America.
• The world’s largest gingerbread house was so massive that it even grabbed its place in the Guinness World Records.
• The world’s largest gingerbread house was nearly made to the size of a tennis court. This massive masterpiece was created to open a trauma center at St. Joseph’s hospital by raising money.

How do you display a gingerbread house, and how long do gingerbread houses last?

Prepping up for Christmas means bringing some creative thoughts to the table. There are various ways of making a gingerbread house. There is no strict rule. So, here are some awesome facts about gingerbread houses and how you can display them in various ways:

• You can use various decorating items to decorate your gingerbread houses, such as candies, tootsie rolls, and many more. You can serve it traditionally on a serving tray, or you can store it in a large jar that would protect your gingerbread house from dust.
• You can even make a gingerbread village, or you can make cute tiny gingerbread houses. It depends on how fascinating you want your gingerbread house to be and how you want to display it. The list of ideas is endless, and so are your creative thoughts in making it.
• Baking a gingerbread house is fun, but don’t you want to know how long it lasts? A gingerbread house can last for 12 months if it is properly stored.
• It depends on how you have prepared it and how much icing you have used. It also depends on the quality of dough you have used to bake a gingerbread house.
• So, always remember to wrap your gingerbread house properly and place it in a freezer or an airtight container. But if the color of your gingerbread changes, or if the gingerbread becomes hard, then it means your gingerbread has expired and should not be eaten anymore.

How to make a gingerbread house with graham crackers?

Are you looking for an easy recipe to make a gingerbread house? If yes, you have come to the right place because you will get to learn the easiest recipe for making this delicious treat right here. Well, building a gingerbread house has no such specific purpose, but making one during holiday time with your kids is undoubtedly going to bring a smile to your kid’s face. Read on to know about the recipe for a gingerbread house by using Graham crackers as the primary ingredient:

• For making this recipe, you need graham crackers and royal icing that will work as glue. Place a cracker on the table (basically the lower base of your gingerbread house). Then add royal icing along the four edges of the graham crackers.
• Quickly stick the graham crackers( four walls of the house) with the base. Then add royal icing along the upper edges, where you will attach your roof. Now simply, place the roof and decorate your house, and Voila! Your cute tiny house is done.
• The kids love to engage in creative activities, and making gingerbread houses is a thing that they would love to do. Buying candies, icing, and stuff from the store for making a gingerbread house is what they are going to love. It is also a way of making the kids spend more time with their families.
• Well, this is not the end because your kids would love to hear how this traditional recipe has been followed for generations. You can even bake and give them an idea about the gingersnap cookies and how it is an important holiday treat.
• The gingersnap cookies were first followed in Germany in the early 13th century, where medieval monks used to make spiced cookies.
• The flavor and aroma of ground ginger, cinnamon, brown sugar, and molasses make you realize that the holiday is near. You can even pair these cookies with hot tea or coffee.
• The plus point of this delicacy is that you can store it for a longer time in an airtight container. Also, it is the best delicacy for health-conscious people as these cookies are low in calories.
• Apart from being a holiday season staple, gingerbread is related to various traditions in different countries across the world. As per the Swedish tradition, you can make a wish come true with the help of gingerbread, but there are some steps for you to follow.
• First, place a gingerbread on your palm and make a wish in your mind. Now, use your other hand to break the gingerbread. If the gingerbread breaks into exactly three pieces, it indicates that your wish will come true.
• Apart from Sweden, gingerbread is extremely famous in Germany as well. The gingerbread house assumed considerable popularity in Germany after a certain event.
• This event was related to the publication of the fairy tale collection from Brothers Grimm. This fairy tale collection also featured the ‘Hansel and Gretel’ in the 19th century.
• Did you know that the Swedish King Hans was suffering from depression at one time? In order to cure his depression, the doctor prescribed him to eat gingerbread cookies.
• Did you know that gingerbread was considered an extremely important symbol of love and luck even during the middle ages?
• Before any tournament took place, the knights would receive a piece of gingerbread from all the ladies interested in them and considered them their favorites to win.
• Traditional medicine practitioners during the Middle Ages would use a special recipe to prepare the gingerbread men. These gingerbread men were then shared with young ladies who wanted to capture the man of their dreams.
• It was believed that if a lady could get a man to eat the gingerbread, then that man would fall in deep love with her.
• Therefore, all the young ladies who wanted to get a good husband and also wanted to get rid of the middleman would take the gingerbread prepared by the folk medicine practitioner and feed it to the man they wanted to marry!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 17 Awesome Facts About Gingerbread Houses, We Bet You Never Knew! then why not take a look at How Do Water Slides Work? Science Facts For Curious Kids, or Famous Waterfalls In South America: Here’s What You Need To Know!