White Elephant Gift Exchange: History and Origins

Examples of White Elephant gifts to be used in the gift exchange of that name.

 

December is considered an important holiday season for many cultural groups.  For Western cultures these holidays are often commonly host to various gift exchange rituals.  Each cultural group has its own specific rules concerning these rituals (e.g., St. Nicholas Day in Germany; Epiphany La Befana in Italy; Kwanzaa; Hanukkah; and more), demonstrating the importance of gift exchanges for these groups.  Today’s blog post will address another gift exchange ritual that exists among Americans: the White Elephant gift exchange.  This blog post will address what this ritual is, its origins, history, and how and why it is celebrated today.

 

The White Elephant gift exchange goes by many other names.  These include Yankee Swap or Evil Santa.  Ultimately, all of these describe a game wherein unwanted, ridiculous, useless, or “gag”/prank gifts are anonymously and randomly exchanged within a group.  There are variations to the rules.  The most common rules require participating individuals agree to partake in the gift exchange, followed by each acquiring (by way of regifting or purchasing) the “gift” to be exchanged.  Group members are assigned numbers at random, and from there each member selects a random gift without knowing which gift was provided by the other members.  Often gifts can be stolen among group members, with a specific number of “steals” allowed before a gift unable to be stolen further.  Group members may informally compete with each other by way of unspoken rules, such as who has the most ridiculous gift, the most sought after gift, or some other value as prescribed by group.  Ultimately, the White Elephant gift exchange is a play on traditional gift giving, which emphasizes being thoughtful and deliberate in choosing a gift.  Instead, the White Elephant gift exchange parodies traditional gift exchanges by emphasizing useless of the gifts and the ridiculousness of gift exchange rituals, thereby removing some of the stress of the more serious rituals.

 

This emphasis on ridiculousness is infused in the name White Elephant, which conjures up odd images since elephants are not naturally white.  The origins of the name are tied to a distorted and false story that claims the Thai king would gift his subjects a white elephant, a gift of great honor but also extreme cost since keeping the animal alive was extremely expensive.  This is actually not quite how the story really goes. 

 

The real origins of the phrase White Elephant come from the poor economic decisions of the American government in the 1850s.  At that time Britian, who was considered a social, political, and economic rival of the United States, showed economic interests in the country of Siam (presently called Thailand).  Fear of missing out on whatever trade deal the British were negotiating with Siam monarchy led the American government to send representatives to the King of Siam to negotiate their own trade deal.  Unfortunately, the American representatives knew little about what the British were negotiating for, and they knew even less about the culture and traditions of the Siam monarchy.  This led to a lot of ethnocentric reactions toward the friendly gestures and actions the Siam monarch made to the American representatives.  The Siam monarch presented various gifts to the representatives, which were meant to secure the friendship and goodwill between the leaders of both nations.  The American representatives could not accept the gifts as per American laws and customs, and they felt that the gifts that were offered were useless.  This led to the gifts being called “white elephant gifts,” referring to useless and unwanted gifts.

 

The term “White Elephant gift” was eventually adopted by Americans as the name for barters or exchanges among peers.  It was commonplace for Americans to trade items of equal value for various purposes, and in the 1890s these exchanges became codified and ritualized parts of the holiday season.  Several newspapers published the rules of engagement for “swap parties” as they were popularly called at that period, although according to a New York Times article it was the publication of the Delphos Daily Herald in 1896 that is credited with renaming the “swap party” to “White Elephant gift exchange.” 

 

Today, White Elephant gift exchanges are fun ways to share gifts and celebrate the holiday season in a minimally stressful way.  These types of gift exchanges are particularly popular among those who do not know each other well, although they are just as entertaining for those who do know each other quite well.  The White Elephant gift exchange showcases the importance of gift giving rituals not just within the holiday season but among Americans across time.

 

Works Cited

Bullen, Ross. "“This Alarming Generosity”: White Elephants and the Logic of the Gift." American Literature (2011): 747–773.

Herrmann, Gretchen. "Machiavelli Meets Christmas: The White Elephant Gift Exchange and the Holiday Spirit." The Journal of Popular Culture (2013): 1310-1329.

Swilley, Esther, Kelley O. Cowart and Leisa R. Flynn. "An examination of regifting." Journal of Consumer Behaviour (2014): 251-261.

Wright, Jennifer Ashley. "A Brief History of the White Elephant Party." New York Times 23 November 2022.

Spotlight on Students: Origins and Meanings of American Idioms

This post highlights the work required of my SA 202: Introduction to Anthropology students. Students were given the opportunity to research and identify the origins and meanings of a specific American phrase that they selected. Several students were given the opportunity to have their exemplary work featured on the blog, and the students who provided permission have their work featured here in this and the following blog posts. Please show your appreciation for their work through the comments. 

 

By: Namarius Banks-Warren

The phrase “piece of cake” means that something is very easy to do. I chose this expression because I hear it often in daily life, and I was curious about why cake is linked to something simple. It is interesting how a common food like cake can have a deeper cultural meaning and be used to describe tasks that are effortless. This expression shows how language uses familiar, enjoyable things to make ideas more relatable and vivid. It is a good example of how culture and language are connected, and it helps us understand how people express ease and simple in a fun, colorful way. Before doing this research, I always thought “piece of cake” just meant a task that was really easy and did not take much effort. I never really thought about where the phrase came from or how long people have been using it as a metaphor. Research did show that the phrase first appeared in Ogden Nash’s 1936 poem Primrose Path, where it was used to describe life as pleasant and carefree. It later became more popular during World War II when American soldiers used it to describe missions that were easy to complete (Knowles, 2009). Some researchers also link the phrase to “cakewalks,” which were 19th-century dance contests in enslaved African American communities. Winners often received a cake, and the word “cakewalk” itself came to mean something that was easily achieved (Partridge, 2002). The phrase was originally connected to something fun or rewarding. Over time its meaning became more specific, mainly describing tasks that are really easy to do. The change probably happened because cake is both tasty and quick to eat, making it a good metaphor for something that is effortless. This change also reveals something about American culture. Food, and especially desserts, are often tied to reward, pleasure, and satisfaction. Calling something a “piece of cake” reflects not only how simple it is, but also how rewarding it feels once it is done.

Knowles, E. (2009). The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press.
Partridge, E. (2002). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge.

 

By: Jada Mabry

I chose the phrase "this is my jam" because it is a very funny phrase that I have heard before  but never used. It also never came to my mind that this phrase relates to dessert. 

It is a phrase that I hear when people are speaking about their musical tastes or something that they like, so I believe it means “this is my song” or “I really like this song.” I have also heard it used as “I really like this thing.” Either way, it can be used almost interchangeably depending on the context.

The original meaning comes from the word jam, which means “the playing of instruments in an improvised way.” It is  hard to pinpoint the direct origins of jamming, but what I found is that in the 1920s, it was used as a term to describe Black and White musicians playing together after hours. This was not allowed for Black people and White people to make music together, so those late-night hours were enjoyable, unfiltered song sessions.

The meaning slowly evolved from enjoying mixed music to enjoying your favorite song. “This is my jam” turned into a diverse phrase for whatever song (or thing) that you like. How it has evolved is also debated, but I believe the phrase became a general term for enjoying something.

The meaning changed for what may be a few reasons. American English is very expressive and using a phrase such as “this is my jam” can be a lot more interesting than simply saying “I like this thing.” Another reason may be pop culture. Online personalities and celebrities have used “this is my jam,” such as Bo Burnham’s Vine published in 2013 where there is music playing and he says, “This is my jam, this is my jam. Hold on… This is my jam…” -- where at the end, the music stops and he pulls out a jar of jam. I think this shows how pop culture evolved language to become more suitable and personalized to the person using the phrase.

Hughes, Emily. “What Is Jamming in Music? - Musical Mum.” Musical Mum, 4 Mar. 2022, www.musicalmum.com/what-is-jamming-in-music/. Accessed 24 Sept. 2025.

“Jamming in the Car: When Your Favorite Song Plays | ShunAuto.” Shunauto.com, 10 Aug. 2025, shunauto.com/article/when-your-jam-comes-on-in-the-car-vine? Accessed 24 Sept. 2025.

Team WeJam. “New to Jamming? Here’s What You Need to Know - WeJam.” WeJam - the Immersive Rockstar Experience, 10 Nov. 2022, wejam.studio/blog/new-to-jamming-heres-what-you-need-to-know/.

VineScope. “Funny Vine: THIS IS MY JAM !!” YouTube, 12 June 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=orumaOYLyVQ. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.

Historical Linguistics: Cannibalism

Christopher Columbus's first meeting with Caribbean Indigenous populations (Source: National Institute of Health)

Cannibalism.  A stomach twisting phrase that refers to the consumption of the flesh and body parts of individuals within one’s own species.  By and large, cannibalism is a universal taboo.  Most societies and cultures agree that eating other humans is an aberration.  As previously discussed on this blog there has been a long history of cannibalism within human societies, starting among our hominid ancestors (e.g., Paranthropus boisei and Homo antecessor) and being commonplace among early human groups (e.g., Paleolithic cultures) and contemporary cultures (e.g., the Fore).  Despite this long history of the act the term cannibalism is relatively new, which is the purpose of this blog post.

 

The original term for the consumption of members of one’s own species was anthrophagy, a Greek term that is a bit of a mouthful and a lot to chew on if you think about it.  This term was used academically, medically, and professionally for centuries but never really caught on in popular language.  A new term, cannibalism, did and has been used since the 1490s.  Cannibalism was coined by Christopher Columbus after Columbus and his crew shipwrecked on the shores of a Caribbean Island inhabited by various Indigenous populations, including the Taino (commonly known as the Arawak, another Columbus term). Columbus reported this particular Indigenous population told him about the other Indigenous populations on the island, who they referred to as Caribs or Canibs. The Caribs/Canibs were characterized as man eaters, meaning they were individuals who literally ate their enemies (the Tainos), and it was in this storytelling that Columbus ultimately became inspired and created the term cannibal.

 

Now, it is important to state that Columbus and the Taino Indians had no translators, so there was more than likely some misunderstandings by Columbus and his crew of what was actually communicated to them by the Tainos.  Today linguists and historical scholars claim that there may not have been any literal consumption of human flesh.  Instead the Tainos may have been explaining the capture of fellows Tainos who were never returned to their home group (as is often the case with prisoners of war throughout history).  It is believed Columbus exaggerated the ferocity of the Caribbean Indigenous populations to justify his mistakes (in not locating a new route to Asia) and subsequent actions (the mass genocide of Amerindians throughout the Caribbean as he searched for nonexistent gold).  This is supported by the actions of Queen Isabella of Spain, who was funding Columbus’s voyages and campaigns.  In her correspondence with Columbus and her crew she said that any Indigenous populations who did not eat other humans should be left free and not be enslaved, but those who cannibals, as Columbus stated, should be enslaved because they were nothing more than animals that needed to be controlled.  Conveniently for Columbus, his crew, and the Spanish monarchy, every Indigenous individual on the island was considered a cannibal at some point and thereby enslaved, justifying the enslavement and cruel treatment of the Caribbean Indigenous populations.  It also led the popular use of the term cannibalism and its continued use against groups of people viewed as “the other” or deviant outsiders by those in power.

 

References

Lukaschek, K. (2000/2001). The History of Cannibalism. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.

Schutt, B. (2017). Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books.

 

 

 

Word Noise No More: The Purpose and Value of Interjections

 

Huh?  Mmmhm. Wow! Oh? Ugh. Psst!  These randomly placed sounds or words are presented here for a specific reasons: they are all examples of interjections.  Interjections are defined as short utterances or sounds that, until recently, were not considered formal words and were provided with little attention or study by linguistic scholars.  More recently, however, scholars have redirected their focus to interjections, recognizing them as important linguistic tools that help form connections, provide clarification, and assist in conversational flows.

 

The lack of interest in interjections can be seen in various ways, but most easily in any language’s dictionary.  Dictionaries are resources that contain most, if not all, of the recognized words and their definitions within any given language.  Typically, interjections are not contained within these texts.  This is because they were considered word noise, and communication specialists viewed them as simple sounds that degraded language and communication and showed the speaker using them as being less intelligent or unprofessional. 

 

This, however, does not match the everyday realities of communication, wherein interjections are voiced quite frequently in all types of conversations.  They are an integral part of communication, particularly when one realizes that interjections exist in various languages spoken today.  Japanese, Hungarian, Catalan, Egyptian Arabic, and Pite Saami are just a sample of the languages that have their own interjections.  They also exist within the English language and their various dialects (e.g., ouch, wow, psst, um, hmm, ouch, pooh, huh). 

 

Work completed by Mark Dingemanse highlights the importance of interjections as he seeks to normalize their study and acknowledge their importance in communication.  He has identified specific classifications of interjections, which include expressive, conative, and phatic interjections.  Expressive interjections are those, such as ouch or wow, that convey an emotional response.  Conative interjects call attention to the speaker, such as when someone uses shh or hey.  Phatic interjections are simply interactional words or sounds, such as mmmhm.  These all play specific roles in communication, such as being signifiers of continuation within a conversation or clarification of what is being said.

 

Interjections are integral to communication based on linguistic experiments wherein their use was tested.  In one study an individual was given the task of sharing a story with a listener.  When the listener used continuation and clarification interjections the speaker provided a rich and detailed story.  When the listener did not do so the story being shared lacked detail, often very significantly.  This underscores the importance of interjections within everyday language patterns.  Failure to include them leaves individuals with the impression that the listener is not actually listening or caring about what the speaker is saying, thereby fracturing the relationship between them.

 

Despite this demonstrated importance and the existence of interjections among many spoken languages they continue to be overlooked and ignored.  This is evident in language learning courses wherein interjections are never discussed and not taught.  This creates a situation wherein a language learner can learn to speak the language but will easily be identified as an outsider/non-native speaker due to the nuances of interjections that help establish social bonds.  Interjections are also neglected in Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) programming, which can help individuals identify a “deep fake” or AI created conversation (or individual conversing in a video or audio recording). 

 

Ultimately, interjections are an important part of communication patterns.  They are not simply “noise” or useless words as previously claimed.  They aid in collaborative communication and social bonding, and they should not only be acknowledged but further understood to help better realize what it means to be human.

 

Works Cited

Dingemanse, Mark. "Interjections at the Heart of Language." Annual Review of Linguistics (2024): 257-277. Print.

Holmes, Bob. "Huh? The Valuable Role of Interjections." Sapiens 9 April 2025. Electronic.

Ponsonnet, Maia. "Interjections." The Oxford Guide to Australian Languages (2023): 564-572.