What is Festivus and what day is it celebrated on?

Publish date: 2020-06-23

THE FESTIVUS holiday reached mainstream audiences after an episode of Seinfeld.

The non-religious celebration revolves around the airing of grievances.

What is Festivus?

As depicted in Seinfeld, Festivus is celebrated every December 23.

The holiday aims to protest the commercialism surrounding the Christmas holiday.

Instead of a Christmas tree, the holiday is celebrated with an undecorated aluminum pole, a Festivus dinner, the feats of strength, and the airing of grievances.

The airing of grievances is is an opportunity to complain about anything to your family members and other participants at the dinner.

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The phrase associated with the tradition, "a Festivus for the rest of us" originated as a way to refer to the living that is able to attend the Festivus dinner, in contrast to the deceased individuals who aren't able to appear.

What Seinfeld episode was Festivus celebrated?

The holiday was portrayed in The Strike episode in season nine of Seinfeld.

"A Festivus for the rest of us!" said George Costanza's father Frank, played by Jerry Stiller, in the episode.

“Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son.

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"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!” Frank explains in the episode.

Cosmo Kramer, played by Michael Richards, quickly embraced the holiday.

Towards the end of The Strike, he abandons it when Frank invites him to wrestle in the feats of strength.

"Frank, no offense, but this holiday is a little out there," Kramer tells Frank.

The episode also follows Kramer's years-long strike at H&H Bagels, Jerry Seinfeld's experience with two-face women, and George's attempt to skimp on holiday gifts.

How do you celebrate Festivus?

According to Dan O'Keefe, the real-life traditions of Festivus included the airing of grievances and wrestling matches portrayed in Seinfeld.

However, one tradition that didn't make it to the episode was O'Keefe's father putting a clock in a bag and nailing it to a wall.

While speaking to CNN regarding the one tradition that didn't make the Seinfeld script, O'Keefe said: "The real symbol of the holiday was a clock that my dad put in a bag and nailed to the wall every year.

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"I don't know why, I don't know what it means, he would never tell me."

"He would always say, 'That's not for you to know.' I thought it was going to be the most forgettable part of it that was cut out for syndication."

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