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GINGERBREAD
HOUSES 2002 |
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In
Norway, the tradition with gingerbread house is widespread,
especially among families with children.
The tradition says that the house should be ready
for the gnomes (nissene) to move in by ’Little
Christmas Eve’ (23rd December). The gnomes will
have moved out again by New Years Eve, and the house
can therefore be taken apart. In families where the
children are quite young, the demolition job is usually
taken care of by one of the parents. |
When
the children are older smashing the house to pieces
with a hammer is often done by the children themselves,
as part of the entertainment on New Years Eve. Most
children also eat the house and the sweets (and the
dust). |
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The
gingerbread house tradition originally came
from Germany, and spread through Sweden to Norway.
The houses are traditionally formed as a one-room
house or a log cabin, often with a light bulb
inside and always elaborately decorated with
loads of sweets. Some families choose to make
a Christian variety, a gingerbread house shaped
as a church. This is seriously mixing pagan
and Christian traditions, as a church is no
place for a gnome!
The spices in the Norwegian recipe are ginger,
cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and pepper. Funnily
enough, it is not called 'gingerbread' in Norwegian
but 'pepper cake house' (pepperkakehus). If
the gingerbread house is stored properly between
each Christmas it can last for many years, assuming
the house is not eaten the first year of course! |
Norwegian
nisse |
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My
gingerbread houses of 2002 started out as an idea
of making something a bit grander than the average
log cabin, more like a mansion of some sort!
I had already decided to make two identical houses,
and give one of them as a Christmas present to a Norwegian
friend of mine also living in London. |
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I found this picture on the Internet which gave me the basic
idea for the house, and I then decided to make a
drawing using Macromedia Flash. To see how the house
would fit together, or not fit well together, I made the
drawing using correct measurements and just scaled it up
at a later stage. The two gingerbread houses are nearly
identical, just minor differences in décor. House
number 1 has not got chimneys, and house number 2 has tissue
paper glued to the inside with icing sugar which makes nice
looking windows. |
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CLICK
ON EACH IMAGE TO ENLARGE |
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House
number 1 |
House
number 1, details |
House
number 1 |
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House
number 2 without lights. |
House
number 2 with lights. |
House
number 2. |
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| House
number 2, details of door. |
House
number 2, details. |
House
number 2. |
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