Tag Archives: gift giving

White Elephant – Christmas Game

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 43
Occupation: President of an electronics company
Residence: Newport Beach, CA
Performance Date: December, 23, 2011
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English, Taiwanese

Rules:
-Each person has to bring in one present that is worth $20
-Once a present has been taken three times, the present can no longer be taken.

Directions:
1) Everybody picks a number out of the hat. That number determines the order for gift picking
2) The first person picks a present from the gift pile and opens it.
3) When it is the second person’s turn, he or she can pick to open another present from the gift pile or pick the gift that the first person opened.
-If person #2 takes the gift from the first person, the first person has to open another present from the gift pile.
4) After that, each subsequent person has the choice of either choosing to open another present from the gift pile or taking one of the opened presents from the previous people.
-If a person’s opened gift is take, then that person then also has the choice between opening another gift or taking another person’s gift.
5) The game ends when the last gift is opened.

My informant told me that White Elephant is a Christmas tradition at her household.  She adopted this tradition after she attended a Christmas party seven years ago at a friend’s house.  She liked the game so much that she decided to incorporate it into her Christmas celebration.  Every Christmas, my informant hosts a Christmas dinner for her entire extended family.  This game was quickly accepted by everyone and has now become a yearly tradition in her household.

I believe that this game must have started as a way for people to save money on buying gifts.  My informant told me that after adopting the tradition, all of the family members have stopped buying gifts for every single relative.  Instead, they have all just focused on finding that one gift for the white elephant game.  At the same time, my informant believes that the game is a great way to bring people together as it is very fun to see what gifts are taken and the reactions of those who gets their gifts taken.

Currently, NBC has ordered a new game show based on this game that will be hosted by Howie Mandel.

Annotation:
Hibberd, James. “NBC Orders New Howie Mandel Game Show: ‘White Elephant'” EW.com. 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/04/17/howie-mandel-white-elephant-nbc/>.

Proverb/Superstition – Korean

Nationality: Korean-American
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendora, CA
Performance Date: May 2007
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Don’t give shoes as a gift, or else the person will leave you.

Jaywon first heard this phrase from her mother, who has always told her not to give shoes as a gift.  She says that giving shoes to somebody will cause them to walk away from you.  She also says that the giving of shoes is like giving them feet to leave.

This proverb has turned into a superstition, which is why it is listed as both.  Though it originates as a proverb, it is also a superstition.  It has become wrong to give somebody shoes or else it will cause the bad luck of them leaving you.  The stereotype is that Korean women are known to be submissive and the Korean men are known to be controlling.  It is understandable that the Korean women do not want their husbands to leave them, especially if they are dutiful to their husbands.  Thus, a mother tells her daughter to never have her husband leave her.  This action can be avoided by never giving shoes as a present.

This proverb originated as Korean, but being a second-generation Korean-American, Jaywon retold it in English.  It is a proverb because it expresses a truth and is popularly said and repeated in the Korean culture.  Proverbs are a part of folklore because they are widely known across a particular culture and spread from generation to generation.  A mother teaching her daughter about being subservient through proverbs is a very common way for proverbs to be passed down.  The practicality and ease of the proverb makes it very easy to keep in the culture.  Also, the use of proverbs is a way to teach younger generations about the culture and the way that one is supposed to act.  The Korean culture is very traditional and follows these proverbs as rules.  The Koreans, like many other cultures, have their own proverbs and superstitions of how to avoid bad luck. Simple tasks such as avoiding shoes as gifts are easy ways to ensure good luck and a prosperous life.

Folk Object: Thimbles

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Nationality: American
Age: 59
Occupation: Manager
Residence: Santa Monica, CA
Performance Date: 11 April 2010
Primary Language: English

Thimbles were once given by young men or boys to young women or girls to display their affection and feelings for them without proposing serious commitment or marriage. Thimbles could be regarded as toys or novelties. Deborah was first given thimbles by her grandmother. Later on when she was stationed in Korea, she started to receive thimbles as gifts from people because she expressed to them that she didn’t have much room and was living in a small apartment. She now owns over 350 thimbles in her collection. Her oldest thimble is from medieval times; her second oldest dates back to 1720. Deborah takes great pride in her collection and claims that she is just a beginner in comparison to other thimble collectors. It appeared that she had a story for each thimble. She feels that the history of thimbles helps one feel what women’s role in society was for the last three centuries.

I was unfamiliar with the expansive history of thimbles. It is fascinating that this folk object was used for more than protecting one’s fingers while sewing. Jewelry when given to a woman by a man was believed to be a serious commitment; when men wanted to demonstrate interest in a woman, but not make such a commitment, thimbles became the perfect alternative because at the time every woman would have known how to sew and would have done so regularly.

Annotations

The idea of thimbles as a folk object and novelty is documented in The Story of the Thimble, along with a history of the thimble.

McConnel, Bridget. (1997). The Story of the Thimble. Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing