Christmas Meditation ~ Gingerbread Men

Gingerbread Man

No one is really sure how Gingerbread Men came to be associated with Christmas.  It's possible that it started in the late 1800's with the publication of the story of The Gingerbread Man in St. Nicolas Magazine.  Prior to that, it is thought that gingerbread men originated in the court of Queen Elizabeth I whose baker created gingerbread in the likeness of guests.  

Regardless of where it began, gingerbread men are now associated with Christmas.  Many Christians believe that the gingerbread man can be used to remind us that man is a created being, created of the dust of the earth.  

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 2:7

The spirit of God has made me,

and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

Job 33:4

The gingerbread man can also remind us of how Jesus the Christ gave his body as a sacrifice for us. 

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you  Do this in remembrance of me."

Luke 22:19 

As we eat the gingerbread man, we are reminded that just as the gingerbread man now becomes part of our body, we as believers in Christ are now a new creation.

Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 

2 Corinthians 5:17