Happy Festivus!


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Happy Festivus!

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Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as "another way" to celebrate the holiday season without participating in its pressures and commercialism. It was created by writer Dan O'Keefe and introduced into popular culture by his son Daniel, a screenwriter for the TV show Seinfeld, as part of a comical storyline on the show. The holiday's celebration, as shown on Seinfeld, includes an unadorned aluminum "Festivus pole," practices such as the "Airing of Grievances" and "Feats of Strength," and the labelling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles".

Celebrants of the holiday sometimes refer to it as "Festivus for the rest of us," a saying taken from the O'Keefe family traditions and popularized in the Seinfeld episode to describe Festivus' non-commerical aspect.

The name "Festivus" has also begun to be used as a general term for any type of December party not affiliated with the season's other events.

History
Although the original Festivus took place in February 1966, as a celebration of the elder O'Keefe's first date with his future wife, Deborah, it is now celebrated on December 23, as depicted on the December 18, 1997 Seinfeld episode, "The Strike". According to O'Keefe, the name Festivus "just popped into my head."

Traditional practices
The holiday, as portrayed in the Seinfeld episode and now celebrated by many, includes practices such as the "Airing of Grievances," which occurs during the Festivus meal and in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed him or her over the past year. After the meal the "Feats of Strength" are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is actually pinned.

The original holiday featured more peculiar practices, as detailed in the younger Daniel O'Keefe's book The Real Festivus. The book provides a first-person account of an early version of the Festivus holiday as celebrated by the O'Keefe family, and how O'Keefe amended or replaced details of his father's invention to create the Seinfeld episode.

Some people, influenced or inspired by Seinfeld,[1] now celebrate the holiday in varying degrees of seriousness; the beginning of the spread of Festivus is chronicled in the 2005 book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us by Allen Salkin.

Summary of the Seinfeld episode and the holiday's rituals
Festivus is introduced in the Seinfeld episode which revolves around Cosmo Kramer returning to work at H&H Bagels. He does so after learning that a 12-year strike in which he participated has ended (because the minimum wage has risen to the level of the wages demanded by the workers twelve years earlier). Kramer becomes interested in resurrecting the holiday when, at the bagel shop, Frank Costanza tells him how he created Festivus as an alternative holiday in response to the commercialization of Christmas.

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!"
Kramer: "That must have been some kind of doll."
Frank Costanza: "She was."[8]
Frank Costanza's son, George (Jason Alexander), creates donation cards for a fake charity called The Human Fund (with the slogan "Money For People") in lieu of having to give office Christmas presents. When his boss, Mr. Kruger (Daniel von Bargen), questions George about a $20,000 check he gave George to donate to the Human Fund as a corporate donation, George hastily concocts the excuse that he made up the Human Fund because he feared persecution for his beliefs—for not celebrating Christmas, but celebrating Festivus. Attempting to call his bluff, Kruger goes home with George to see Festivus in action.

Kramer eventually goes back on strike from his bagel-vendor job when his manager tells him he cannot have time off for his new-found holiday. Kramer is then seen on the sidewalk picketing H&H Bagels, carrying a sign reading "Festivus yes! Bagels no!" and chanting to anyone passing the store: "Hey! No bagel, no bagel, no bagel..."[8]

Finally at Frank's house in Queens, New York, Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George gather to celebrate Festivus. George brings Kruger to prove to him that Festivus is real.

Festivus pole
In the episode, the tradition of Festivus begins with an aluminum pole. While not part of the original O'Keefe family celebration, Daniel O'Keefe credits fellow Seinfeld writer Jeff Schaffer with introducing the concept of the aluminum pole. During Festivus, the pole is displayed unadorned. The basics of the Festivus pole are explained by Frank in two separate situations:

Cosmo Kramer: "And is there a tree?"
Frank Costanza: "No, instead, there's a pole. It requires no decoration. I find tinsel distracting."
Frank Costanza: "It's made from aluminum. Very high strength-to-weight ratio."

When not being used, the pole is stored in the Costanzas' crawl space.

Festivus dinner
In "The Strike," a celebratory dinner is shown on the evening of Festivus prior to the Feats of Strength and during the Airing of Grievances. The on-air meal was shown to be some sort of meatloaf. The original holiday dinner in the O'Keefe household featured turkey or ham followed by a Pepperidge Farm cake decorated with M&M's, as described in detail in O'Keefe's The Real Festivus. In the Seinfeld episode no alcohol is served at the dinner, but George Costanza's boss, Mr. Kruger, drinks from a hip flask.

Airing of Grievances
The celebration of Festivus begins with the "Airing of Grievances," which takes place immediately after the Festivus dinner has been served. It consists of lashing out at others and the world about how one has been disappointed in the past year.

From the Seinfeld episode:

Frank Costanza: "And at the Festivus dinner, you gather your family around, and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year!"
Frank Costanza: "The tradition of Festivus begins with the Airing of Grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now, you're gonna hear about it. You, Kruger. My son tells me your company stinks! You couldn't smooth a silk sheet if you had a hot date with a babe...I lost my train of thought."
Feats of Strength
The Feats of Strength is the final tradition observed in the celebration of Festivus, celebrated immediately following (or in the case of "The Strike," during) the Festivus dinner. The head of the household selects one person at the Festivus celebration and challenges that person to a wrestling match.[7] The person may decline if they have something else to do, such as pull a double shift at work. Tradition states that Festivus is not over until the head of the household is pinned in a wrestling match. The Feats of Strength are mentioned twice in the episode before they actually take place. In both instances, no detail was given as to what had actually happened, but in both instances, George Costanza ran out of the coffee shop in a mad panic, implying he had bad experiences with the Feats of Strength in the past. What the Feats of Strength entailed was revealed at the very end of the episode, when it actually took place. Failing to pin the head of the household results in Festivus continuing until such requirement is met.

From the Seinfeld episode:

Jerry Seinfeld: "And wasn't there a Feats of Strength that always ended up with you crying?"
George Costanza: "I can't take it anymore! I'm going to work! Are you happy now?!"
Frank Costanza: "I've brought one of the cassette tapes."
Frank Costanza (on a tape recorder): "Read that poem."
George Costanza (on a tape recorder): "I can't read it, I need my glasses."
Frank Costanza (on a tape recorder): "You don't need glasses! You're just weak, weak!"
Estelle Costanza (on a tape recorder): (shouts) "Leave him alone!"
Frank Costanza (on a tape recorder): "All right, George. It's time for the Festivus Feats of Strength!"
George Costanza: "No! No! Turn it off! No Feats of Strength! I hate Festivus!"
Frank Costanza: "We had some good times."
Festivus miracles
Another growing tradition, although not used by all celebrants of the holiday, is the phenomenon of the Festivus Miracle. Mentioned twice in the original episode, the miracles were declared by Cosmo Kramer during the Festivus celebration in the Costanza household.

Miracle #1;

Sleazy Guy: "Hello again, Miss Benes."
Elaine Benes: "What are you doing here?"
Sleazy Guy: "Damnedest thing. Me and Charlie were calling to ask you out, and, uh, we got this bagel place."
Cosmo Kramer: "I told them I was just about to see you. It's a Festivus Miracle!"
Miracle #2;

Gwen: "Jerry!"
Jerry Seinfeld: "Gwen! How did you know I was here?"
Gwen: "Kramer told me!"
Cosmo Kramer: "Another Festivus Miracle!"
Jerry Seinfeld: (gives Kramer a murderous glare)
Etymology and origin
The word Festivus in this sense was made up because it sounded funny to Dan O'Keefe. The English word "festive" derives from Latin "festivus," which in turn derives from festus "joyous; holiday, feast day."[9][10] A scholarly work on the etymology of the word by Dr. Brian A. Krostenko concludes that in ancient Rome the word evolved, referring at times to the way the common folk would misbehave on official religious holidays and at other times to a certain snooty attitude amongst the higher classes.

In the original O'Keefe tradition, the holiday would take place in response to family tension, "any time from December to May."[11] The phrase "A Festivus for the rest of us" also derived from an O'Keefe family event, the death of the elder O'Keefe's mother.[11]

The elder O'Keefe wrote a book, Stolen Lightning: The Social Theory of Magic (1982), that deals with idiosyncratic ritual and its social significance, a theme relevant to Festivus tradition.[12]

Festivus in popular culture

"Happy Festivus" embroidery on a yarmulke."Festivus" was the name of a seasonal Ben & Jerry's ice cream made in 2000 and 2001.[13][14]
"Festivus" was a term used by the 2000 Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) and their fans to denote the NFL Playoffs. During the season, Ravens head coach Brian Billick, wanting his players to focus on every game, banned the word "playoffs." Players substituted the term "festivus" for playoffs and "Festivus Maximus" for the Super Bowl. The Ravens eventually won the 2001 Festivus Maximus, Super Bowl XXXV.[15]
In 2005, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle was declared "Governor Festivus" and during the holiday season displayed a Festivus Pole in the family room of the Executive Residence in Madison, Wisconsin.[16] Governor Doyle's 2005 Festivus Pole is now part of the collection of the Wisconsin Historical Museum.[17]
In 2007, a Wisconsin man requested permission to erect a Festivus pole next to Green Bay City Hall's nativity scene as a response to public religious and secular displays.[18][19]
In 2007, in a commercialization of the holiday, the first Festivus Pole Lot opened [20] in downtown Milwaukee.
In 2008 and 2009, a Festivus pole was erected in the rotunda of the Illinois Capitol building located in Springfield, Illinois. In 2008, the handle of a pool cleaner was erected by 18 year old student, Mike Tennenhouse, who along with Governor Rod Blagojevich began "airing grievances" on behalf of the people of Illinois.[21][22] The 2009 display was an unadorned aluminum pole.
In 2008 the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. held an "airing of grievances" on bulletin boards attached to a kiosk. These grievances were then aired by a town crier in a jester hat the following weekend.[23]
In 2010 an inmate at the Theo Lacy jail in Santa Ana, CA received Kosher meals for his Festivus "faith". Malcolm King was given non-salami meals for two months while the county was getting the order thrown out, arguing that kosher meals and religious observances were not a part of Festivus.[24] The issue became moot on October 5, 2010, when King was released from county jail and turned over to Immigration and Custom Enforcement.

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Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by merkin muffley »

:lol: I love it.
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Re: Happy Festivus!

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Even the JW in the next cube who doesn't watch TV knows what Festivus is.

I'm so bored. All my projects are off my desk. Everything is off my desk. Even 99.9% of the germs that cause infection are off my desk.

We made waffles for breakfast in the break room and are going to watch My Cousin Vinny at lunch. Before that I think I'm going to go for a ride around the block in my Caddy...

:obscene-smokingpimp:
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Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by inhuien »

Mind the hot rocks on your silk tie, pin hole burns sink ships.

Happy Christmas everyone, even tiny Tim.
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Re: Happy Festivus!

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It was AVATAR.

:puke:

I'd rather work, so I got two new projects!

:crazy:
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Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by Eyes High »

Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Years, and any other holiday I might have missed. May each of you have a wonderful day in whatever way you may (or maynot) celebrate. Hugs and kisses to my fellow castouts. May your spice be pure, your water cool, and your blade sharp. Happy Holidays to all here at Jacarutu. Bless you!
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Re: Happy Festivus!

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:occasion-snowman:
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ahnnah

Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by ahnnah »

My father puts up an aluminum pole in the front yard of his house. It's about the limit of his holiday cheer.
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Re: Happy Festivus!

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ahnnah wrote:My father puts up an aluminum pole in the front yard of his house. It's about the limit of his holiday cheer.
Seems like a lot of work.
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Re: Happy Festivus!

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Nekhrun wrote:
ahnnah wrote:My father puts up an aluminum pole in the front yard of his house. It's about the limit of his holiday cheer.
Seems like a lot of work.
To much work for me ... I walk to the liquor store and back. that's it.
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Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by Nekhrun »

Serkanner wrote:
Nekhrun wrote:
ahnnah wrote:My father puts up an aluminum pole in the front yard of his house. It's about the limit of his holiday cheer.
Seems like a lot of work.
To much work for me ... I walk to the liquor store and back. that's it.
I just tell my wife what I want and she goes to get it. She doesn't want me to show my face there anymore after some unpleasantness a few birthdays back.
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ahnnah

Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by ahnnah »

Nekhrun wrote:
ahnnah wrote:My father puts up an aluminum pole in the front yard of his house. It's about the limit of his holiday cheer.
Seems like a lot of work.
He has a blob of concrete with a hole in it next to the mailbox. It's for the pole. Classy, I know. He thinks it's hilarious that he has a Festivus pole. :crazy:
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Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by A Thing of Eternity »

ahnnah wrote:
Nekhrun wrote:
ahnnah wrote:My father puts up an aluminum pole in the front yard of his house. It's about the limit of his holiday cheer.
Seems like a lot of work.
He has a blob of concrete with a hole in it next to the mailbox. It's for the pole. Classy, I know. He thinks it's hilarious that he has a Festivus pole. :crazy:
Oh I agree with him. :D
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Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by Serkanner »

best wishes from me ....

Your own, personal, Jesus
someone to hear your prayers,
someone who cares

Your own, personal, Jesus
someone to hear your prayers,
someone who's there

Feeling unknown
and you're all alone,
flesh and bone,
by the telephone,
lift up the receiver,
i'll make you a believer

Take second best,
put me to the test,
things on your chest,
you need to confess,
i will deliver,
you know i'm a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith

Your own, personal, Jesus
someone to hear your prayers,
someone who cares

Your own, personal, Jesus
someone to hear your prayers,
someone to care

Feeling unknown
and you're all alone,
flesh and bone,
by the telephone,
lift up the receiver,
i'll make you a believer
i will deliver,
you know i'm a forgiver

Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith

Reach out and touch faith

0031653476952
"... the mystery of life isn't a problem to solve but a reality to experience."

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Re: Happy Festivus!

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................ I exist only to amuse myself ................
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Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by Hunchback Jack »

Tori Amos, originally, IIRC.

HBJ
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Re: Happy Festivus!

Post by Crysknife »

Merry Xmas everyone!
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Re: Happy Festivus!

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:lol:

Gotta love The Fudd. :P
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