I love gnomes. For my birthday a couple years ago, my mom got me gnome salt and pepper shakers, a string of lights with gnome coverings, a gnome book… you get the idea. My keychain is a rubber duck with a gnome hat and beard. Anyways, Sweden has a history of gnomes! Only they’re called tomte (tome-tay, more or less). And from what I’ve gleaned, they were thought to protect the farmhouses and were the spirit of the first owner of the house, often the ancestor of the current owner. They are supposedly grumpy little fellows who often demanded some kind of food or treat so they would keep the house safe. Whatever the case may be, they soon became a Christmas icon as well – santa is known as Jultomten. Jul being Christmas of course…. Yule…. Jul. It’s not a stretch. So there’s a lot of cute little gnome-like creatures in shop windows all over town! They are usually made of wool, but I have seen clay and ceramic ones as well. I love it!

I found these guys at a Christmas market! The tomte is the little one with the red cap. The other is a horse. Obviously. They are both handcrafted!

xxx Maren