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The (Not Always) Sweet Holiday History of Gingerbread

1. Even though it's slightly grisly, the story of The Gingerbread Man (who runs away from a
2. cow, a horse, and a chicken but gets eaten by a fox) has delighted children ___ Christmas since
3. 1875, when it was published in St. Nicholas Magazine. The cookie's ancestors and cousins have
4. been enjoyed for far longer. Ginger is the underground root of a plant that originated ___ the
5. tropical rain forests of Southern Asia and was exported to India and Europe during the early
6. spice trades. According to The Gingerbread Book, cakes made with ginger and molasses or honey
7. were likely introduced to Western Europe ___ 11th-century crusaders returning from
8. Mediterranean countries — early adopters of the spice.
9. Fairs ___ medieval France and England offered ginger-flavored sweet treats called fairings,
10. according to the "Oxford Companion to Food". Knights received a piece for good luck in
11. tournaments. Legend traces gingerbread men back to Queen Elizabeth I, who supposedly had
12. her cooks mold the pastry into the shapes of her favorite courtiers and liked to give VIP guests
13. ginger "biscuits" that were edible caricatures. Around the same time, there was a belief that if a
14. woman ate a "gingerbread husband" it might lead to her marriage. One theory holds that since
15. the "men" are really more toddler-shaped than adult, they came to represent the baby Jesus at
16. Christmas. And the spices involved are sometimes thought to represent the exotic gifts of the
17. Magi.
18. In Germany, gingerbread cookies called lebkuchen were heart-shaped and decorated with
19. romantic messages. The city of Nuremberg became known as the "gingerbread capital of the
20. world" in the 1600s, with master bakers creating elaborate works of art. The oldest recorded
21. gingerbread recipe, dating to the 16th century, is kept in the Germanic National Museum in
22. Nuremberg. Gingerbread from that city has "protected geographical indication" from the
23. European Union, like Parmigiano-Reggiano and champagne.
24. Houses made of gingerbread may have been inspired in the early 1800s by the Brothers
25. Grimm, who ___________ (write) about a witch's cottage made of candy and cookies in "Hansel
26. and Gretel." Waves of immigrants brought gingerbread to America (George Washington's mother
27. is credited with one recipe), and the houses became particularly popular as Christmas
28. decorations among the German population of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania – the
29. "Pennsylvania Deutsch." Gingerbread was used to decorate the branches that they brought into
30. their homes during the holiday-precursors of the Christmas tree. Whatever shape or style – men,
31. houses, or simple squares - the aroma of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, and of course ginger is as
32. intoxicating in the 21st-century kitchen as it was for that clever fox.

(Available at: https://www.marthastewart.com/1523540/gingerbread-holiday-history – text specially

adapted for this test).