Huh?

For the past few years one of the folks who lives down the street from our church puts up the following Christmas decoration: 

Now, there are a great variety of Christmas decorations people put up these days, but Santa riding an elephant? I have a few questions . . .

Are the people who live in this house from a country/culture where riding elephants is common? I've seen pictures of folks doing so (in Asia, I think), but is that really common enough for a decoration like this?

The company that makes this must have a big enough market to produce them in a sufficient quantity to make a profit. You don't just invest the funds necessary to make one or two of these! Who are the buyers? I've never seen anyone else have one of these! Are they all overseas - in Asia?

Is there some other hidden reason or meaning here that I just don't get? 

Hmmm . . .