The little people, they live in gardens everywhere! I often wondered why they were so popular, so I did some research.
There is quite the history behind these statues, to begin with. The legend behind them is they are usually old men that live underground deep into the forest. They usually wear a pointed hat, and have a long white beard. The word Gnome is derived from Latin and and can be loosely translated to mean " earth dweller ".
Northern European folklore is where Gnomes first appeared, and then they became absorbed into German and Dutch cultures. They say that the modern Gnome is more Dutch culture, and this is where the garden Gnome became popular.
Kabouter is the Dutch word for Gnome, and they will tell you that the Kabouter's are very shy of people. It is also odd that as the Kabouter became popular, it was the Germans that first started producing them in the mid 1800's.
They very quickly became popular all across Europe.
Some Gnomes have actually been kidnapped and have traveled around the world, this is known as " returning the Gnome to the wild ".
So does anyone have any Gnomes in their garden?
Or have you returned and Gnomes to the wild?
