Festivus
Festivus is a fictional holiday popularized by Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) on the popular American television comedy Seinfeld. Some fans of the show now celebrate this fictional holiday in real life.
Festivus is held on December 23 of each year. It was created as a response to the commercialism of the other December holidays. Its slogan is "A Festivus for the rest of us."
The Festivus idea came to the show through writer Daniel O'Keefe. His father, Dan O'Keefe, had invented a Festivus holiday in 1966.
Main elements of Festivus
The Festivus celebration includes three major components:
- The Festivus Pole. During Festivus, an unadorned aluminum pole is displayed, apparently in opposition to the commercialization of decorated Christmas trees, and because the holiday's creator, Frank Costanza, "find[s] tinsel distracting."
- The Airing of Grievances. At the Festivus dinner, the celebrant tells their friends and family all of the instances where they disappointed the celebrant that year.
- The Feats of Strength. The head of the family tests his or her strength against one participant of the head's choosing. Festivus is not considered over until the head of the family has been pinned. A participant is allowed to decline to attempt to pin the head of the family only if they have something better to do instead.
The Origins of Festivus
- Frank Costanza — Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.
- Cosmo Kramer — What happened to the doll?
- Frank Costanza — It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born.....A Festivus for the rest of us!
External links
- Festivus on Seinfeld Forever
- December 19, 2004 New York Times article on Festivus; includes a discussion with Daniel O'Keefe, the Seinfeld writer who appropriated his own family's real-life Festivus tradition for the Seinfeld episode.