White Elephants!

I know it is hard to read, but this bell says The Origin of the Flag of Siam.

When I googled the Flag of Siam I was immediately taken to the Flag of Thailand. This is because today Siam is called Thailand.

I clicked on a list of historical flags and found a picture of this flag on the list. This flag is called the elephant flag and in Thai language they say Thong Chang.

The flag shows a white elephant facing the hoist on the red flag which was the first flag adopted in Siam. The red flag was the ensign of the Kingdom of Ayutthaya.

King Rama II of the Rattanakosin period of Siam received three white elephants as a gift and he ordered that an image of the magnificent white elephant be put on the red flag. This was to show that he was the King Who Owned White Elephants.

A white elephant is also known as an albino elephant. They are rare but not a distinct species. Do white elephants exist today? The answer is yes. There are approximately 30 white elephants around the world. The king of Thailand keeps a number of white elephants. There are eleven of them which are still alive.

Today, the term ‘white elephant’ means any burdensome, expensive and useless thing one owns that is more trouble than it is worth.

Often members or friends of an organization will hold a white elephant sale to raise money for a cause. Items they no longer use, or no longer care to own are donated and then a sale will be held. A white elephant sale is very similar to a yard sale or garage sale.

I remember as a young child, going to sales organized by ladies in our church and there was always a table called the ‘white elephant’ table. One year I brought home an item that Mom had donated to that particular table! We had a good laugh over that.

Do you remember ‘white elephant’ sales? Do you have things in your house that you could/should donate to a ‘white elephant’ sale? I bet we all do!

#livinglifeabundantly #publishedauthor