Hands Over Feet

Finland and Gingerbread

I’m watching the frost melt on the grass from my second floor double-paned window. This is a very slow process: it’s midwinter in Finland and the sun rises at 9:30 AM and sets at 3:15 PM. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to see the dawn every day.

It has been one of those odd winters where we haven’t had any snow here - in Finland of all places. Instead the temperature hovers just above freezing point and it drizzles daily. The sky is foggy and gray and the clouds move at high speeds overhead. There is something beautiful about this weather though, it brings out saturated colors. Our neighbor’s lawn is this thick mossy green that glows in comparison to the leafless bushes and trees. The whites of yard lights and painted gutters and fences pop brightly. Even the dead bushes have a red, ruddy kind of weight to them. It must be some kind of trick of dim light that gives everything heavier, juicier colors.

My sister and I built this gingerbread house this year. We build one every year, and try to be as creative as possible. This year’s house was actually a birdhouse with candycane for a stand, a heart-shaped door hole, gingerbread leaves, and stained glass windows.

How to make stained glass windows for your gingerbread house:

• Place gummy bears in the window holes before baking.

• After baking, let fully cool before moving - the windows are finicky and sticky.

• The windows will take a few days to set, so assemble the house but be careful not to let the windows make contact with anything.

- Emma