There have been many new and borrowed religious and secular traditions in America including the Gingerbread houses tradition.
Ginger came to the west via the Silk Road. It was cultivated in China first. The sanskrit word for it is 'srigavera' translates to 'roots shaped like a horn'
The origin of Gingerbread was in Greece in 2400 BC. The European countries like England and France erected its gingerbread fairs. It was shaped into kings and queens.
Queen Elizabeth I was the pioneer to have elaborate gingerbreads decorated to serve the officials that would arrive in the country.
Germany had a legend formed in Grimms Brothers' Hansel and Gretel where the kids saw a house of bread, roofs of cakes, and sugar windows. Germans brought the Gingerbread house traditions in America.
George Washington's mother prepared gingerbreads as a part of foreign diplomacy
In contemporary times, there are competitions and Guinness World records. In 2017, A New York chef built the biggest gingerbread village.