Yes, it's that time again. Time for feats of strength, airing of grievances, and an aluminum pole.
For those of you who aren't familiar with the holiday, or who don't know that it has a history outside the TV show Seinfeld, Wikipedia will fill you in.
Festivus is a nondenominational holiday featured in an episode of Seinfeld, a popular American television sitcom of the 1990s. The holiday was a plot device in episode number 166 of the show, entitled "The Strike", which first aired on December 18, 1997. Many people, influenced or inspired by Seinfeld, now celebrate the holiday, in varying degrees of seriousness. Some do it religiously, others do it in good tidings in their respect to Seinfeld.
According to Seinfeld, Festivus is celebrated each year on December 23, but many people celebrate it other times, often in early December. Its slogan is "A Festivus for the rest of us!" An aluminum pole is generally used in lieu of a Christmas tree or other holiday decoration. Those attending participate in the "Airing of Grievances" which is an opportunity for all to vent their hostilities toward each other, and after a Festivus dinner, The Feats of Strength are performed. Traditionally, Festivus is not over until the head of the household is wrestled to the floor and "pinned."
The Festivus celebration includes four major components:
* The Festivus Pole: The Costanzas' tradition begins with a bare aluminum pole, which Frank praises for its "very high strength-to-weight ratio." During Festivus, an unadorned aluminum pole is displayed. The pole was chosen apparently in opposition to the commercialization of highly decorated Christmas trees, because it is "very low-maintenance," and also because the holiday's patron, Frank Costanza, "find[s] tinsel distracting."
* Festivus Dinner: The Festivus dinner menu is flexible, but it should consist of filling, non-holiday comfort food (no turkey, duck, or goose). The televised dinner featured what may have been meatloaf or spaghetti in a red sauce. (Presumably, an entree in a red sauce is more festive.) Kruger took a flask out from his jacket and took a swig; so one might interpret that drinking is optional. In the Festivus book by Allen Salkin, drinking is encouraged with hearty beer, cheap rum, bourbon, or wine.
* The Airing of Grievances: At the Festivus dinner, each participant tells friends and family of all the instances where they disappointed him or her that year.
Frank Costanza: "I've got a lot of problems with you people!"
* 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 to the ground. 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 Festivus idea came to the show through writer Dan O'Keefe. His father, Daniel O'Keefe, had discovered the Festivus holiday in a book that outlined obscure (mostly
European) holidays published in 1966, included were many of the features later included in the Seinfeld episode. The father was inspired in part by the Samuel Beckett play Krapp's Last Tape, whose protagonist tapes himself speaking at different times in his life. The original Airing of Grievances was spoken into a tape recorder, and the O'Keefe family retains some of the tapes. (The father's career as a Reader's Digest editor meant internal politics of that organization are prominently featured; external grievances were permitted.)
The O'Keefe tradition did not have a set date (the original holiday took place in the "Past" day before the presentation of presents which fostered altruism in the community when
supplies were diminished, and the "Future" which represented the hope of the coming year- the original date was usually on December 23), but would take place in response to family tension, "any time from December to May" (Salkin). 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. This is not dissimilar from an Irish wake. The holiday made it onto Seinfeld after the writing team was amused by O'Keefe's retelling.
The DKos Festivus tradition started last year, when I and JLongs independently posted Festivus related diaries a few spaces apart on the new list. A Festivus Miracle! Since my
diary was a history of Festivus, and JLongs' was specifically for the airing of grievances we decided instead of one of us deleting, to combine our efforts into one large Festivus celebration. A little later, rgilly joined in by posting a Feats of Strength diary (which is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen on this site).
Here are links to the original History of Festivus, the Airing of Grievances, and the Feats of Strength diaries.
So, join me friends, as we celebrate an obscure Scandinavian, co-opted by an American sociologist, and popularized by his sitcom writing son.
Air your grievances against all who have disappointed you this past year.
Test yourself in the Feats of Strength by telling us what you have done to deserve the honor of a Festivus Feats of Strength medal, or try to pin our Champion (Champion to be
named later).
And please, recommend. Festivus is for the rest of us, and the Recommended page too.