The origins of gingerbread men can be traced back to Elizabeth I of England, but their popularity is due to the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale ‘Hansel and Gretel’, in which they are mentioned as part of the gingerbread house, so much so that in the 1800s, bakers’ and confectioners’ shop windows began to fill up with these fragrant little men during the Christmas season… becoming a symbol of Christmas!