"Gnome for the Holidays"

"What a wonderful day it is to be spent with all of you," Williamsburg Women's Civic Club second Vice President Robin Brantner said welcoming the large group of ladies to the club's annual event, the Christmas Tea.

The theme for this year was "Gnome for the Holidays," and gnomes were all over the First Methodist Church for the event. Susan Houck, one of the chairwomen this year for the event, said that she picked this theme because she found a love of Christmas gnomes during a trip to Germany to visit her son.

Gnomes originated in countries such as Germany, Scandinavia, Norway and Switzerland. Houck said she also found a wooden college on her trip overseas that taught woodworking, and the custom wooden gnomes were sold streetside.

The idea of gnomes originated in the 1400s, and were short-bearded protectors of farms.

It is Norwegian tradition to leave porridge for gnomes, as it is tradition in America to leave milk and cookies for Santa. In Norwegian culture, it is said to bring good luck for the next year.

WHS Band and Chorus Director Christy Rhoads provided the entertainment with her musical skills on the flute, playing such songs as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and "Silent Night."

Brantner then recited the poem, "The Christmas Gnome" by Erin Greene, and said that gnomes help plants grow, are protectors of family, and custodians of wisdom. Natalie Gorsuch read the Christmas Story.

One of the group's biggest traditions is their singing, this year songs chosen included: We Wish You a Merry Christmas, I Saw Three Ships, Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and O Come All Ye Faithful. While the committee was preparing the food, the group sang "Silent Night."

Anna May Very, a long-time member of the Civic Club, said this traditional Christmas Tea has been around since she can remember since her joining of the club in the early 1970s. "Those days, we used to have tea at different houses yearly."