It’s that time of year again! Holidays mean gatherings and gifts and one of the most popular of these gatherings is The White Elephant Gift Exchange! The white elephant gift exchange tradition has a fascinating but largely mythical origin story. The popular legend claims it originated in Siam (modern-day Thailand), where kings would gift sacred white elephants to courtiers they disliked. While these elephants were highly prestigious, they were extremely expensive to maintain and couldn’t be used for work, supposedly leading to the recipient’s financial ruin.
However, historians have debunked this tale. According to Thai historian Rita Ringis, no Siamese monarch ever gave away white elephants as burdensome gifts, as these creatures were considered signs of status and good fortune.
The modern white elephant gift exchange tradition actually began appearing in American society around 1907, first mentioned as a joke in Nebraska’s The Columbus Journal. By 1908, newspapers were regularly advertising white elephant parties where guests brought items they wanted to get rid of but considered too good to throw away…