Sawasdee Lady Statue Plain Red Dress 30" To 60" Tall

These statues, known as Sawasdee, stand at a height of 30 to 60 inches and are typically dressed in plain red attire. They are commonly positioned outside businesses to welcome visitors. The wai gesture, originating in Buddhism and sharing similar roots with the Hindu namaste, involves bringing the palms together in a gesture of equality, signifying that the other person is regarded as an equal human being. The customary verbal greeting or farewell paired with the wai gesture is "sawatdi" (pronounced sā.wàt.dīː, sometimes romanized as sawasdee). When spoken by a female, it is usually succeeded by "kha," and when spoken by a male, it's followed by "khrap." The term "sawatdi" was coined in the mid-1930s by Phraya Upakit Silapasan of Chulalongkorn University. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "svasti," meaning 'well-being,' and was previously used in Thai as a standard opening to inscriptions. In the early 1940s, the nationalist government of Plaek Phibunsongkhram actively promoted the use of "sawatdi" in the government and among the wider populace as part of a broader cultural movement to modernize Thailand.