# 4820 - 2013 First-Class Forever Stamp - Contemporary Christmas: Gingerbread House with Orange Roof and Door

Issue Date: November 6, 2013
City: New York, NY
Quantity: 187,500,000
Printed By: Banknote Corporation of America
Printing Method: Offset
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 11
Color: Multicolored

This stamp is part of a block of four issued for the 2013 holiday season. The gingerbread houses were constructed specifically for the stamp design. 

 

Gingerbread houses and cookies are a holiday treat in the United States. The dough used to make them is quite simple by modern standards, with major grocery stores carrying ginger and other spices from the most exotic locations. But many common spices were not available when gingerbread was introduced, making it a luxury for the rich and a type of currency that influenced history.

 

In 17th century France and Germany, only professional gingerbread bakers were allowed to bake the treat. Considered a gift worthy of royalty and heads of state in England, gingerbread was often decorated with edible gold paint. Queen Elizabeth I impressed important visitors with gingerbread likenesses of themselves. In the Colonies, George Washington was fond of his mother’s recipe, which included a generous dose of brandy.

 

As spices became widely available, religious groups, especially Catholic monks, gave gingerbread to the needy and served it on holidays. In Pennsylvania, the children of German immigrants decorated foot-high gingerbread men to place in the windows of their homes to cheer passersby. 

 

Today, gingerbread houses are a staple during the Christmas holidays, sending a message of happiness and good cheer that has ancient roots.