White Elephant

As the holidays approach, The House would like to spend a minute exploring the origins of a game called “White Elephant” (or sometimes Yankee Swap). It’s a particular kind of group gift exchange where each participant contributes a wrapped gift to a common pool. The players draw lots to determine the order in which they will play. The first player chooses a gift and unwraps it for all to see. The following players can choose to either pick an unwrapped gift from the pool or steal a previous player’s gift. Anyone who gets their gift stolen in this way can do the same. There are several variations of the rules, but the general idea is to entertain a group of people, usually in the context of a holiday party. So the gifts tend to be wacky, unusual or offbeat.

Why is this game called White Elephant?

Elephants, in general, are considered symbols of success and good fortune, as The House’s loyal readers know. White elephants (which, for the record, are actually more pinkish in color) are extremely rare and therefore even more symbolic of good fortune. White elephants are especially revered in Thailand, where they are a symbol of royal power and are more accurately referred to as “auspicious elephants.”

Quartz has written an excellent and through explanation of the history of white elephants, which explains the cultural significance of gifting a white elephant to someone:

“To possess a white elephant connoted political power, wealth and prosperity, great wisdom, and the love of one’s people. If a member of the king’s court had somehow landed on his majesty’s bad side, and lacked the funds to properly care for such a beast, the status afforded by ownership was nonetheless too great to refuse. To reject a gift of a white elephant would have been illogical if you valued your reputation. And your head.”

This is how the phrase “white elephant” came to mean an unwanted or burdensome gift that you cannot get rid of.