Did you know that the 1. runaway Kolobok, a fat bun who skips his way through the forest followed by some 2.pursuers desperate to gobble him up, has a
3.counterpart? It’s the gingerbread man! In fact, so many different countries and
cultures have a fairy tale which is similar to Kolobok, featuring either a runaway pancake, a
gingerbread man on the loose or a fleeing rice cake. In St. Nicholas tale, a 4. old woman
bakes a gingerbread man who leaps from her oven and runs away. The woman and her husband fail to
catch him. The gingerbread man then outruns several farm workers and farm animals. The tale ends
with a fox catching and eating the gingerbread man. A gingerbread man is a form of gingerbread
cookie, commonly presented at Christmas. The traditional gingerbread man may be presented plain,
dressed with chunks of sugar or 5., or with candies forming his major features.
Gingerbread women are also made, although the gingerbread man is far more common. Many
holiday decorations incorporate the gingerbread man. Conventionally, the gingerbread man is made
with legs slightly apart and arms outstretched, and many consumers have traditions about which
order the extremities are eaten in. The gingerbread man 6. first appeared in the court of
Queen Elizabeth I, who presented courtiers with gingerbread likenesses of themselves. The Queen's habit
of jesting with her court makes this tale 7.. This example of the gingerbread man
was probably darker and more savoury than the version we are accustomed to, as well as thicker
and more cake-like. Elizabeth's cooks relished opportunities for lavish decoration, and the gingerbread
men she handed out may have included gold leafing and other outlandish 8. features.
The gingerbread man also has a long history in 9. Europe, where he appeared
as a Christmas tree decoration and in elaborate holiday scenes. The gingerbread man often had a
gingerbread house to live in, with gingerbread animals, trees, and decorations made from candies
and sugar. Especially in Germany, gingerbread Christmas decorations are often quite elaborate,
stemming from a 16thcentury tradition of fanciful gingerbread 10., inspired by
Grimm's Fairy Tales and the story of Hansel and Gretel. In the 17th century, Nuremberg, Germany,
became known as the gingerbread capital, thanks to the elaborate gingerbread scenes that the bakers of
that city would create, which included complex gingerbread houses, animals, and people decorated
with gold leaf, foil, and other decorations. The gingerbread man probably reached his zenith during this
period, when only professional gingerbread bakers were supposed to make gingerbread, except
during the Christmas season when the rules were relaxed.