If you aren’t feeling the Christmas spirit yet, or probably still have unresolved grievances you have yet to air out, this day is for you – Happy Festivus!
December 23 is Festivus day, reserved for those who feel that normal holiday traditions – like singing and smiling the whole time – don’t quite fit the bill. While Festivus has been celebrated for years now, this pandemic-centered year may have just made it more relevant and worth celebrating.
Festivus is mainly meant as an alternative to the pressures and commercialization of Christmas. So instead of celebrating the season with the usual holiday cheers, people who mark Festivus take out an undecorated aluminum pole (instead of a brightly lit Christmas tree), a wrestling match and the airing of grievances. Festivus is the perfect time to complain about anything and everything – with no one judging you.
The holiday, which is non-religious by the way, was started by Daniel O’Keefe in 1966 and popularized by “Seinfeld” in a 1997 episode written by his son, Dan O’Keefe. Since then, people have been inspired by this offbeat holiday and now celebrate it like any other holiday.
“A Festivus for the rest of us!” late Syracuse University alumnus Jerry Stiller said as George Costanza’s father Frank in the famous episode. Such line became the official slogan of the holiday.
Here’s an excerpt from the “The Strike” episode of Seinfeld:
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!
Cosmo Kramer: That must have been some kind of doll.
Frank Costanza: She was.
All the aforementioned Festivus traditions were also based on the same episode on Seinfeld.
It’s still unclear how many people celebrate Festivus, but it has always trended on social media platforms as people make jokes and memes about the event.
I’ve got a lot of problems with you people and now you’re gonna hear about them! #Festivus pic.twitter.com/hn5V6txXOk
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) December 23, 2020
At the Festivus dinner you gather your family around and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year. #Festivus pic.twitter.com/uA15yP86IV
— FestivusWeb.com (@FestivusWeb) December 23, 2020
Happy Festivus!
— Lisa G M Friedman, MD/MA 😻⚾️🐧😷🦴 (@Shoulder2LeanOn) December 23, 2020
And now for the airing of grievances:
1) Calibri is a garbage font that should never be the default.
2) Women's tailored white coats seldom have pockets
3) The 'st' is words like amongst and whilst are never necessary.@generalorthomd @Davembmd @Ortho_PA pic.twitter.com/N0jH7jE9MK
happy festivus, which is actually an occasion every day on twitter in 2020, to all who celebrate❤️ pic.twitter.com/8ehsfsS7b1
— mariah (@mariahfrush) December 23, 2020
