Gingerbread

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but some time within the last few months, I discovered a possible Christian meaning of gingerbread. I was waiting for a good opportunity to share my discovery with you, and since the next General Conference talk covers a similar theme, I figure that now is probably the best time.

There are two things that are typically made out of gingerbread: gingerbread houses and gingerbread men. Both of these things can point us to Christ, as He was the Bread of Life, and He was born in Bethlehem, which means "House of Bread." In his talk, The Living Bread Which Came Down from Heaven, Elder D. Todd Christofferson reminded us of the significance of the symbolism of Christ being the "living bread." He said that part of the meaning behind the symbolism is a reminder of the importance of internalizing the attributes of Christ. You are what you eat, and if what you eat reminds you of Jesus Christ, and specifically of our need to strive to be like Him, all the better.

At Christmastime, there is symbolic meaning behind almost everything. In fact, I recall hearing that all things testify of Christ. As we search for symbolic meaning in the symbols of Christmas, we will find them, and when we do, those symbols, in our minds, can become symbols of Christ. Personally, I am going to see a bit more significance behind gingerbread men and houses in the future, and I hope that that significance will help me remember Christ's humble origins and how we need to internalize Christ's qualities and teachings, just as we might "internalize" a house or man made of gingerbread.