I received a lovely Christmas present from my relative, Borut LenardiÄ, who lives in Slovenia. He had writt en previously that he had gone to a Christmas fair in Ljubljana and purchased a gift. The gift was a beautifully decorated Gingerbread Heart made by “Perger†(founded in 1757 in Slovenj Gradec). This gingerbread heart is about 5.5 in. across and is beautifully decorated. The design is very intricate, done in the way cakes are decorated in America, but with a greater amount of detail and not one mistake! It is so perfect that one may think it was created by a computer or machine, but I doubt that it could be done by anyone except a skilled artist. My sister-in law decorates cakes and says that she could never even come close to creating the design.
The booklet by Perger that came with the heart says that the heart is made of a special honey dough which rests in an over 250-year-old barrel for at least 30 days before being used to make the cookies, making their shelf life in a dry place at least 50 years. How anyone would want to eat this work of art is unthinkable and it does say that it is not edible!
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Gingerbread cookie ornaments are among the oldest Slovenian Christmas decorations, being fi rst mentioned in 1597. They have been used on Christmas trees or as a room decoration for many centuries. Gingerbread products are given as gifts to important personalities, and Melania Trump received one as a wedding gift.
August Pust, a local artist, explained the Slovenian Gingerbread Heart. More than a century ago, young men from the mountain villages had a hard time meeting girls as only on special occasions such as holidays did young people meet, usually in front of the church. Everyone was there, and the shy farm and mountain boys lacked the words to express their feelings and compete with the more sophisticated men from the town. They needed a way to express their att raction or feelings of love without being embarrassed. Their solution was a big, beautiful decorated heart with an appropriate message such as something sweet and personal. That is how in a mountain village deep in the Slovenian Alps, the fi rst Valentine was created. It was a method of communication and if one did not like the message it could be eaten.
This heart was made of honey, spices, fl our, and baked like gingerbread and then decorated with sugar lace and fl owers, a work of art that took care and time. Sometimes a small piece of paper was pasted in the middle of the heart with a message, usually with thoughts of love and human relations, friendship, admiration and good luck, or sympathy. Above all, it was an expression of love. Sometimes a small mirror was built in the surface with words that read “This picture will show you the love of my heart.â€
The custom of exchanging and giving hearts spread far and wide and became the most widely used motif for Slovenian folk art. Hearts were often kept for a longtime as a beautiful reminder of a fi rst love. My Christmas heart was given with the wishes of my family in Slovenia, wishes which will last forever across the many miles.
Many thanks to August Pust who in 1982 wrote a commentary, “Lectovo Srce,†which was a source for some of the facts presented in this article.
Please see our January and February online edition below.
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By Pat Gruden
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