When did all the Scandinavian gnomes become Gonks?

[Whatsleftnow]

Last year they were gnomes, elves and occasionally doorstops but now, everywhere I look they’re called “gonks”.

How did this happen? Who decided? Have they formed a union?

Of all the strange happenings in the world in the last few years, this might me the one that tips me over the edge.

Anyone else noticed this strange and sudden gonk phenomenon?

We have two which were bought in Sweden about 10 years ago, they're called Tomte there and so this is what we call them. Their origins are in Scandinavian and Nordic folklore, I believe. Can't help with the Gonkification of the Tomte but I suspect it's The Retailers' doing. Long live the Tomte!

Yes I noticed this. - and they are so not gonks! Gonks are green and bounce up and down on a piece of elastic making a boink sound as they do so. (Folds arms and harrumphs).

I don’t know, but they appear to be prolific breeders!

YES! It's already become a bit of a thing in our family that suddenly this year Gonks have taken over Christmas! M&S are even doing edible ones in their Christmas range. Are we just meant to accept this like it's normal?!

Yes!! I noticed this a couple of years ago on some crafting groups I'm on. "Make a Gonk workshop" or "How much does everyone charge for a medium sized gonk?" I was just like "WTF is a gonk?!" Where have they come from? Is this going to be a new Christmas essential? Gonk on the Shelf?!

Tomte! I like that. Much more pleasing to the ear.
@Alphabet1spaghetti2 I wholeheartedly agree and harumph along with you. Gonks are an entirely different kettle of fish.

I feel I should be suspicious of something but I can’t decided whether it’s the creatures themselves or not. Should I be wary of the one in my attic? Will I open the box and find I suddenly have a dozen of them in various shapes and sizes? Or is that just an innocent tomte?

They’ve been called gonks for many years - certainly as far back as the 1970s.

Gonks were all the rage in the mid-60s, they were squat and hairy. I think they were meant to look like Vikings. We all had them at our school, sitting on the desk if we could get away with it. Very popular as mascots in exams.

Gonks have been around for about 60 years. I have an original Gonk from the 1960s.

Oh snap!

I have loads of them for different seasons, but it’ll be a long time before I call them Gonks, they’re Tomte!

These are the Gonks of my 70s childhood.

I had some of those back in the 1960s @CentrifugalBumblePuppy : they were called Glooks rather than Glonks though if memory serves.

I feel sad about the gonkification of Christmas.

i fucking love a gonk. We have some from Finland. I adore them, I’ve picked more up from the U.K.

i don’t want them to be a fashion, as that means they will fall out of fashion and gonks are too good for that

They will always be Tomte or Tomten!

I bloody loves a Gonk I do

This.

Another vote for Tomte here! We were given one years ago by a Swedish friend, and as that's what she calls them, they've always been Tomte to us. We only have the one though, no prolific breeding here! Our DS gave him his very solemn name of 'Mr. Tomte'. 😂

I spotted Matalan selling this matching gonk-themed Christmas toilet seat and mat set. That might tip me over the edge a bit. They at least had the decency to call it a 'gnome'.

Where where you that last year they where called Gnomes?

A Gnome is a completely different thing.

They have definately been called Gonks for the last 3 years since my DS got into them.

A quick google says that in the UK they have been called Gonks since the 60s with the film 'Gonks go beat' coming out in 1964 and its a different origin to the scandiavian one.

In the 1970s Gonks were round bodied stuffed things with short arms and legs.

Gonks have been around for about 60 years

OMG. Gonks were 60 years ago. It's 60 years since we all had gonks as exam mascots. (Actually it's slightly less than 60 years ago we did that, but still....) I'm old. 😂

Didn’t that scary looking man in Crocodile Dundee call himself Gonk?

Oops, I think that was Donk, sorry

This was a 1960’s Gonk

I preferred trolls

Yes. Thats a gonk.