{"id":2142,"date":"2022-01-23T00:24:56","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T00:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.letitbegnome.com\/?p=2142"},"modified":"2022-01-23T00:25:03","modified_gmt":"2022-01-23T00:25:03","slug":"why-are-gnomes-called-gonks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.letitbegnome.com\/why-are-gnomes-called-gonks\/","title":{"rendered":"Why are Gnomes Called Gonks?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The creature that looks so much like Santa<\/a> was not originally a Christmas icon. Gonks<\/a> are inspired by gnomes and hobgoblins found in Scandinavian mythology<\/a>, who would make their home near farms where they could find food for future generations among livestock or other people’s leftover scraps at the end of each day\u2019s meal rituals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are gonks and gnomes the same?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whilst\u00a0Gonks<\/a>\u00a0look like gnomes, the main difference is that they originate from Scandinavian folklore, are essentially their version of\u00a0Santa Claus<\/a>, and you do not see their eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the origins of gonks?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first mention of a gonk<\/a> dates back to the 1600s in Norway<\/a>, and possibly even earlier than that. A well-known motifs of Nordic folklore<\/a> the gonks part protector\/elf on shelf who watched over homes from evil while also being mischievous themselves but often had a short tempered nature towards others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more modern and commercial gonks have been around since the 1960s. They were created by an English inventor called Robert Benson in his garden shed, and went on to become so popular that even celebrities like\u00a0Ringo Starr<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Peter Sellers<\/a>\u00a0had them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do we have gonks at Christmas?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gonks are essentially festive\u00a0Scandinavian gnomes<\/a>. With just their nose and beard peaking out from under a hat like the ones Santa wears at Christmas time\u2026 these little guys are sure to bring some cheer into your home this season!<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The creature that looks so much like Santa was not originally a Christmas icon. Gonks are inspired by gnomes and hobgoblins found in Scandinavian mythology, who would make their home near farms where they could find food for future generations among livestock or other people’s leftover scraps at the end of each day\u2019s meal rituals. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,56,39,58],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy are Gnomes Called Gonks? - Let it be Gnome<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gonks are different from gnomes so why are gnomes so often called gonks? 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