As with many Christmas-adjacent things, gingerbread houses originated in Germany during the 16th century. Gingerbread itself had of course been around for much longer: Rhonda Massingham Hart, the author of Making Gingerbread Houses, noted that the first known recipe for gingerbread came from Greece in 2400 BCE. Gingerbread houses, however — those miniature homes made with cookies for walls and frosting for roof tiling — became popular around the same time the Brothers Grimm wrote their story about Hansel and Gretel and the witch’s house in the forest made entirely of sweets. But according to PBS, it’s unclear, still, whether gingerbread houses became popular because of the fairy tale or if the fairy tale included a memorably edible home because of how popular gingerbread houses were at the time.
The Jacksonville Historical Society sponsors an annual Gingerbread Extravaganza Experience
The event includes the traditional gingerbread exhibit at Old St. Andrew’s Church, as well as a holiday gift shop. New this year: Kids Day, Sunday, December 11 — Photo op with Santa Claus, balloon art, face painting artists, and more