Santa’s cookies at the castle
Christmas gingerbread and the concept of ‘naughty or nice’ also originated from Albert’s Germanic roots. On 24 December 1856, Queen Victoria wrote in her diary: “In Germany, the old saying that St. Nicholas appears with a rod for naughty children, & gingerbread for good ones, is constantly represented… Albert got a St. Nicholas, most formidable.. in black, covered with snow, a long white beard, & red nose, — of a gigantic stature! He came in asking ‘are you a good child’, & giving them gingerbread & apples.”
