# Update on Gingerbread Man origin? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [November 28, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057 "2004-11-28T23:47:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zeuser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ba0ec/32.png) [@zeuser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeuser)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/1 "2004-11-28T23:47:30Z")
I read a posting dated 2001 May 2 regarding the origin of the gingerbread man. I couldn’t access the comments if there were any. Is there any additional information out there regarding where it all got started? I’ve been looking for days and cannot find a thing. Thanks for helping me out. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/2 "2004-11-29T00:09:54Z")
I think you’re referring to the Staff Report [What’s the origin of the gingerbread man?](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mgingerbread.html). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/3 "2004-11-29T00:24:12Z")
Since this one IS about a staff report, let’s move it over there. I’m sure posters will be along to tell you if there have been other threads about Dex’s column. I couldn’t find any. Welcome to the boards, **zeuser**. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/4 "2004-11-29T03:52:48Z")
Hm. I thought there had been a thread with some additional comments, but I can’t find it either. Basically, no, there’s been no update since that Staff Report first appeared. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2004, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/5 "2004-11-29T13:27:00Z")
The Grantham connexion appears to be, not the gingerbread man, but Grantham Gingerbread, a [somewhat off-the-main-line formulation](http://www.lincolnshirecam.co.uk/Grantham%20gingerbread.htm) served as (en-US) cookies (en-GB) biscuits, said to have been invented by accident in the 1740s. ---
**Author:** ![electrosiren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@electrosiren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/electrosiren)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/6 "2004-12-22T21:27:56Z")
Hello, The most likely origins of the gingerbread man was from the old Pagan beliefs. They believed that when people died throughout the year their bodies died but their spirits floated around until the end of the year and at that time death came and collected all the dead people and took them away. This was the Winter solstice time. Then people were scared that when death came to get the dead souls it might take them by mistake or take a loved one. They were also scared that they themselves may have died during the past year and just didn’t know it and so death was coming to take them away. This is also the origins of Halloween when these paranoid people would dress up it costumes in an atempt to hide from death so it wouldn’t recognize them and they would be passed over for another year, and get to live. They went even further to believe that death didn’t come for specific people, it just came to get a set number of souls. So they started thinking that if someone else died in their place that would be cool. So they went around and captured all the theives, unwanted, poor, slaves they could find and killed them. That way death would be busy taking all the unwanted away and leave the “good” people to live. The Druids put all these people in a wooden cage and burned them alive. But the Pagans used to hang people in trees so that it would be easy for death to swoop by and pick them up. I don’t know if they killed the people first and then hung them in trees, or if they were hung alive. Anyway, if no bad people could be found, they would use an animal like a pig or sheep and hope that death would be satisfied by that. So then German’s used to feel that winter was a bad time since everything died, so the one thing that didn’t die was a fur tree, so they cut down the fir tree and put it inside their homes. That was to remind them of life and that everything around them was not dead. So then they made gingerbread men to hang on the tree to symbolize what they used to do with people. It was believed that the ginger spice was good at warding off evil. That way if you had a living tree in your home with spicy symbols of sacrified souls on it that would make sure that death would steer clear of your house. All this evolved into our mordern day Christmas celebrations when whe make gingerbread houses and gingerbreadmen and still hang them on the tree at Christmas. It is true but you probably don’t believe it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/7 "2004-12-22T21:40:40Z")
And have you any citation for this besides the Book of Wiccan Woo-woo? (By the way, Druids _were_ pagans.) ---
**Author:** ![electrosiren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@electrosiren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/electrosiren)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2004, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/8 "2004-12-22T21:48:49Z")
sorry I didn’t know I needed a citation. I didn’t say I was an expert on Pagans. I thought there were different types of Pagans depending where they came from. I thought the Druid Pagans were from England and were slightly different from the German Pagans. Of course I could be wrong. I don’t know why your critizize me I was just trying to help answer a question. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/9 "2004-12-23T00:49:55Z")
> [@electrosiren](#): > > sorry I didn’t know I needed a citation. Of course I could be wrong. I don’t know why your critizize me I was just trying to help answer a question. We’d just like to know where you got your information. That would help us decide if it’s something that is backed up by facts, or just someone’s opinion. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/10 "2004-12-23T17:15:04Z")
We’d like to update it, but first we got to CATCH it. your humble TubaDiva Administrator running as fast as I can. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/11 "2004-12-23T17:15:48Z")
Yes, that’s a joke, a joke. 🙂 your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/12 "2004-12-24T08:07:22Z")
You can post two messages within a minute? NO FAIR! ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/13 "2004-12-24T11:30:56Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > You can post two messages within a minute? NO FAIR! **Duderdude2** \*\* - she’s an administrator (read: has really magical powers beyond our collective ken. And prolly has a special Admin key on the special Admin keyboard - kinda like having the “key to the executive washroom”, while the rest of us have to walk next door to Burger King to wee). \*\*may I call you DudeR[sup]2[/sup]? It took me 6 times to type your name (stoopid decaf). ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/14 "2004-12-24T17:17:32Z")
It’s only a 30 second floodcheck; both posts were within the same 60 second window. Could have happened to anyone. Even you. No moderator superpowers there. your humble TubaDiva Administrator ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/update-on-gingerbread-man-origin/277057/15 "2004-12-24T18:40:24Z")
Sure, but you said the same thing that time we saw you bending steel girders into pretzels.