Tip: You can store the cookies for several days or even weeks wrapped in plastic (before glazing, of course!).
Why Are There Cookies for Christmas?
The twelve days of Christmas are a dangerous time in Germanic folklore. The origin of Christmas cookies is an old superstitious belief that the evil spirits of the Wild Hunt, a ghostly hunting party that foretold disaster, could be placated with sweet goodies. Of course, the cookies that were placed in windows were not really eaten by demons, but by children, beggars, and peddlers.
The snacks for demons were not complicated Christmas goodies, but rather, for the most part, simple gingerbread. The delicious and decorative cookies that are baked today appeared in the nineteenth century.