Gingerbread

As Adam belongs to Eva, so gingerbread (Pepernoten in Dutch) belongs to (Sinterklaas) Santa Claus on the december 5th. But why do they actually sprinkle gingerbread? And how do ginger nuts get their name?

That has to do with an old legend. Sint Nicolaas, you know, was not for nothing the patron saint of (among other) 'nubile boys and girls'. He had a lot to do with three girls from a poor family who could not pay a dowry. Their old father saw no other solution than to send his daughters into prostitution. But Sint Nicolaas stuck to that. When the girls slept, the Saint sneaked to the window and threw gold coins through it. This way the girls could save their dowry together and they did not have to go into prostitution.

From this story our gingerbread descend. In the Middle Ages, people started to celebrate the death of Saint Nicholas. In order to remember his generous gesture, the sprinkling of chocolate fake coins came into vogue. Those coins were mixed with gingerbread. Pepper was considered an aphrodisiac in the Middle Ages. The nubile boys and girls could use that!