Like many Christmas traditions, the origin of this delicious custom lies ages ago, in solstice ritualsconducted long before Christmas became the huge commercial holiday it is today. Winter solstice festivals have been held for eons, across the world. Celebrations revolved around food.

　　像许多圣诞节传统一样，这道好吃的传统美食也有好多年历史了，早在圣诞节变成现在这种商业节日之前好久，姜饼就已经是冬至仪式的一部分了。人类庆祝冬至日已经有几千年的历史的，而食物一直是庆祝活动的中心。

　　By the Middle Ages, the Christmas holiday had overtaken solstice rituals throughout much of present-day Europe. However, the old feast traditions remained. The pastry world was experiencing some amazing changes. Spices like nutmeg, cinnamon and black pepper were just starting to be widely used, and dried exotic fruits like citron, apricots and dates added sweetness and texture to the dessert tray.

　　到中世纪，今天欧洲的大部分地区已经用圣诞节取代了冬至，然而旧的筵席传统却保留了下来。不过，面点做法发生了巨大变化。像肉豆蔻、肉桂和黑胡椒这样的香辛料开始被广泛应用，像香橼、杏和大枣这样的热带果干则为甜点增添了甜度和质地。

　　These items, along with ingredients like sugar, lard and butter, would have been prized as expensive delicacies by medieval cooks. Only on the most important holiday could families afford treats like these. And unlike pies or cakes, cookies could be easily shared and given to friends and neighbors.

　　这些材料以及糖、荤油、黄油对中世纪的大厨来说都是昂贵的佳肴，普通家庭只有在最重要的节日才能吃上这些美味。而且饼干跟派或者蛋糕不一样，它可以被很方便地分享，能分给朋友和邻居。

　　Though cookies have come a long way since medieval times, some things haven’t changed. Many Christmas cookies are still heavily spiced. We think of “traditional” Christmas flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

　　虽然，中世纪以后饼干有很长的演变过程，但有些东西从未改变过。很多圣诞饼干依旧大剂量地使用香辛料，我们一想到“地道的”圣诞口味就会想到肉桂、肉豆蔻和姜的味道。

　　Gingerbread is a classic Christmas cookie, and yet it’s also a cookie that would have tasted strikingly similar back in the Middle Ages. These cooks would not have made gingerbread men, however. The first person to try that was none other than Queen Elizabeth I of England, who had the cookie molded into the shapes of her favorite courtiers.

　　姜饼是一款经典款的圣诞饼干，而且它现在的味道和中世纪时的基本一样。然而那时却没有姜饼小人。第一个做姜饼小人的不是别人，正是英国女王伊丽莎白一世，她把饼干做成了她最喜爱的大臣的形状。

（编辑：何莹莹）