https://www.cnet.com/news/google-doodle-goes-long-with-garden-gnomes-game/

Do chubby, pint-size humanlike creatures with red pointy hats inhabit your garden?

If so, you're part of one of the longest running folklore traditions. These ornaments originated in the German mining town of Thuringia during the 19th century.  Usually made of wood or porcelain, the figurines were associated with folk tales and superstitions about dwarfs believed to help around the mine or protect buried treasure.