Festivus

The NY Times has an interesting article about the growing popularity of Festivus celebrations. Festivus falls on Dec. 23 and is celebrated by gathering around an aluminum pole, airing grievances, and having wrestling matches (among other things). It was introduced to the world by the Frank Costanza character on Seinfeld, but was actually invented back in 1966 by Dan O'Keefe, an editor at Reader's Digest. It looks like there's a good chance the celebration could seriously catch on and become a permanent fixture in the ever-growing galaxy of American holidays. I could do without the wrestling part of it, but if it offers another excuse to eat and drink, then I'm all for it. You can get Festivus cards here or here.

Folklore/Tall Tales

Posted on Tue Dec 21, 2004


Comments

Is there any link between Festivus and strip club dancing?
Posted by Loxx  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  10:04 AM
Lordy. Like we need *another* holiday in December. There's tons of them.

What we need is a family holiday in the dead times - Late January through mid-March.
Posted by cvirtue  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  10:16 AM
I thought January - March was considered "Catchup". As in...catching up on all the bills you accrued over the holidays. (Plus, there's always Lent...it's a lot of fun to give up something you like...really.)
Posted by Maegan  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  11:11 AM
I noticed an error in your entry. The charater from Seinfeild was George Constansa. Not Frank.
Posted by Dany  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  12:17 PM
I can't remember the Seinfeld episode that well, but in the Times article they specifically say it was Frank who invented Festivus.
Posted by The Curator  in  San Diego  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  12:22 PM
Yes it was Frank, George's father who "created" Festivus on Seinfeld. George related the story about his family never celebrated Christmas, but instead this holiday that his dad invented. Kramer got into it then, and even got Frank to start celebrating it again.
Posted by Frederick J. Barnett  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  12:51 PM
In Germany they celebrate starting from 11.11(Nov 11) until 2.2(Dec 2). Any day between can be selected for party.
Posted by Loxx  on  Tue Dec 21, 2004  at  02:53 PM
Right up there with Kwanzaa -- every bit as genuine and apparently a year or two more ancient. Maybe some enterprising entrepreneurs will make fortunes composing Festivus songs and hawking Festivus cards.
Posted by sam  on  Wed Dec 22, 2004  at  01:39 PM
sam, you're an idiot.
Posted by stilicho  on  Mon Feb 14, 2005  at  03:11 PM
Festivus is for the rest of us. Festivus is growing and will become a large holiday that everyone can celebrate together. For more info on Festivus check out http://www.whatisfestivus.com

Happy Festivus!
Posted by Ander  on  Mon Dec 18, 2006  at  10:07 PM
Let the airing of grievance begin. If you have never heard of Festivus check out http://www.whatisfestivus.com. There is a clip from the Seinfeld episode there.

Happy Festivus!
Posted by Ander  on  Fri Dec 22, 2006  at  07:12 PM
funny festivus cards http://www.cafepress.com/wrapintheflag
Posted by bill  on  Sun Dec 02, 2007  at  01:25 AM
festivus is for the rest of us, y'all! it's not supposed to be in addition to christmas but instead of christmas. i think it's great. less commercialized and a lot of fun. and we all need to air our grievances at least once a year
Posted by melissa  on  Fri Dec 07, 2007  at  09:18 PM
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