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Festivus () is a
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to the perceived pressures and
commercialism Commercialism is the application of both manufacturing and consumption towards personal usage, or the practices, methods, aims, and distribution of products in a free market geared toward generating a profit. Commercialism can also refer, positi ...
of the
Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season, also known as the holiday season or the holidays, is an annual period generally spanning from November or December to early January. Incorporating Christmas Day and New Year's Day, the various celebrat ...
. Originally created by author Daniel O'Keefe, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'' episode " The Strike", which O'Keefe's son, Dan O'Keefe, co-wrote. The non-commercial holiday's celebration, as depicted on ''Seinfeld'', occurs on December 23 and includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the "airing of grievances" and "feats of strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles". The episode refers to it as "a Festivus for the rest of us". It has been described both as a parody holiday festival and as a form of playful consumer resistance. Journalist
Allen Salkin Allen Salkin is an American journalist, author, and critic who has written for the ''New York Daily News, New York Times,'' and other publications. Education Salkin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California, Berkeley and a ...
describes it as "the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering".


History

Festivus was conceived by author and editor Daniel O'Keefe, the father of television writer Dan O'Keefe, and was celebrated by his family as early as 1966. While the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word means "excellent, jovial, lively", and derives from ''fēstus'', meaning "joyous; holiday, feast day", ''Festivus'' in this sense was coined by the elder O'Keefe. According to him, the name "just popped into my head". In the original O'Keefe tradition, the holiday would take place to celebrate the anniversary of Daniel O'Keefe's first date with his future wife, Deborah. The phrase "a Festivus for the rest of us" originally referred to those remaining after the death of the elder O'Keefe's mother, Jeanette, in 1976; i.e., the "rest of us" are the living, as opposed to the dead. In 1982, Daniel O'Keefe wrote a book, ''Stolen Lightning: The Social Theory of Magic'', that deals with
idiosyncratic An idiosyncrasy is a unique feature of something. The term is often used to express peculiarity. Etymology The term "idiosyncrasy" originates from Greek ', "a peculiar temperament, habit of body" (from ', "one's own", ', "with" and ', "blend ...
ritual and its social significance, a theme relevant to Festivus tradition. It is now celebrated on December 23, as depicted in the ''Seinfeld'' episode written by the younger O'Keefe.


''Seinfeld''

The ''Seinfeld'' episode that featured Festivus was titled " The Strike", although O'Keefe notes that the writers later wished they had named it "The Festivus". It was first broadcast on December 18, 1997. The plot revolves around
Cosmo Kramer Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to simply by his surname, is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998) played by Michael Richards. The character is loosely based on comedian Kenny Kramer, Larry David' ...
(
Michael Richards Michael Anthony Richards (born July 24, 1949) is an American actor and former stand-up comedian. He achieved global recognition for starring as Cosmo Kramer on the NBC television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' from 1989 to 1998. He began his career as a ...
) returning to work at his old job, H&H Bagels. While dining at Monk's Restaurant, as
George Costanza George Louis Costanza is a fictional character in the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), played by Jason Alexander. He is a short, stocky, balding man who struggles with numerous insecurities, often dooming his romantic rel ...
(
Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor and comedian. Over the course of his career he has received an Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for four Golden Globe ...
) is opening his mail, he receives a card from his father saying, "Dear Son, Happy Festivus." This leads to
Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...
(
Jerry Seinfeld Jerome Allen Seinfeld ( ; born April 29, 1954) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. As a stand-up comedian, Seinfeld specializes in observational comedy. Seinfeld gained stardom playing a semi-fictionalized version ...
) and
Elaine Benes Elaine Marie Benes () is a fictional character on the American television sitcom ''Seinfeld'', played by former SNL cast member Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend in the sitcom is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good fri ...
(
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She has gained acclaim for starring in a string of successful comedy series as well as several comedy films. She has received List of awards ...
) discussing George's father's creation of Festivus despite George not wanting it to be discussed. Kramer then becomes interested in resurrecting the holiday when, at the bagel shop,
Frank Costanza This is a list of characters who appeared on ''Seinfeld''. This list features only characters who appeared in main roles or multiple episodes; those that appeared in only one are not included here. Overview ;Overview : = Main cast (credited) : ...
( Jerry Stiller) tells him how he created Festivus as an alternative holiday in response to the commercialization of Christmas. Meanwhile, George 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, of celebrating Festivus instead of Christmas. 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 take December 23 off to celebrate his newfound holiday. Kramer is then seen on the sidewalk
picketing Picketing is a form of protest in which people (called pickets or picketers) congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Often, this is done in an attempt to dissuade others from going in (" crossing the pi ...
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..." Finally, at Frank's house in
Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
, New York, Jerry, Elaine, Kramer, and George gather to celebrate Festivus. George brings Kruger to prove to him that Festivus is "all too real". O'Keefe was initially reluctant to insert his family's tradition into this episode, but when executive producers Alec Berg and
Jeff Schaffer Jeff Schaffer (born 1970) is an American film and television director, writer, and producer. Early life and education Schaffer and his brother Greg (also a film and TV writer and producer) were raised in the Warren– Howland, Ohio area, abou ...
learned of the bizarre holiday through O'Keefe's brother, they became curious, then enthusiastic, then insisted that it be included in the episode. Schaffer later reflected: "That's the thing with ''Seinfeld'' stories, the real ones are always the best ones. There's a nuance to reality sometimes that is just perfect. We could have sat in a room for a billion years and we never would have made up Festivus. It's crazy and hilarious and just so funny and so disturbing. It's awesome."


Festivus practices and traditions

The Festivus practices and traditions began as original O'Keefe family practices, and later expanded to include the traditions introduced in the 1997 ''Seinfeld'' episode " The Strike".


O'Keefe family practices (1966–1997)

The O'Keefe family holiday featured other practices, as detailed in ''The Real Festivus'' (2005), a book by Daniel O'Keefe's son, Dan O'Keefe. Besides providing a first-person account of the early version of the Festivus holiday as celebrated by the O'Keefe family, the book relates how Dan O'Keefe amended or replaced details of his father's invention to create the ''Seinfeld'' episode.


Festivus clock

In a 2013 CNN segment on the origins of Festivus, O'Keefe spoke about the real-life experiences related to the holiday. O'Keefe's father, who originated some of the now-recognized Festivus traditions, used a
clock A clock or chronometer is a device that measures and displays time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month, a ...
in a bag nailed to a wall, not an aluminum pole. It was never the same bag, rarely the same clock, but always the same wall. The nailing was most often done in secret and then revealed proudly to his family. The younger O'Keefe told CNN: "The real symbol of the holiday was a clock that my dad put in a bag and nailed to the wall every year...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'."


Fictional practices introduced due to the ''Seinfeld'' television episode (1997–onwards)

The holiday, as portrayed in the ''Seinfeld'' episode, includes practices such as the "airing of grievances". During the Festivus meal, each person is given the chance to "air their grievances" by telling everyone else at the table all of the ways that they have disappointed the speaker during the past year. After the meal, the "feats of strength" are performed, involving
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is pinned.


Festivus pole

In the episode, the tradition of Festivus begins with an aluminum pole. Frank Costanza cites its "very high strength-to-weight ratio" as appealing. During Festivus, the pole is displayed unadorned, as Frank finds "tinsel distracting." Dan O'Keefe credits fellow ''Seinfeld'' writer
Jeff Schaffer Jeff Schaffer (born 1970) is an American film and television director, writer, and producer. Early life and education Schaffer and his brother Greg (also a film and TV writer and producer) were raised in the Warren– Howland, Ohio area, abou ...
with introducing the concept. The aluminum pole was not part of the original O'Keefe family celebration, which centered on putting a clock in a bag and nailing it to a wall. In 2021 the ''Seinfeld'' Twitter, YouTube and other social media accounts, along with the environmental organization One Tree Planted, tried to give a new environmental meaning to the pole, pledging to plant a tree for every person that posted a selfie with a pole using the hashtag #FestivusSavesTrees. Pointing out that using a Festivus pole instead of a Christmas tree saves a tree, they also said that for this purpose the pole would not have to be aluminum but could be any kind of pole of any size.


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 shows Estelle Costanza serving a sliced reddish meatloaf-shaped food on a bed of lettuce. In the episode no alcohol is served at the dinner, but George's boss, Mr. Kruger, drinks something from a hip flask. The original holiday dinner in the O'Keefe household featured turkey or ham as described in Dan O'Keefe's ''The Real Festivus''.


Airing of grievances

The "airing of grievances" takes place immediately after the Festivus dinner has been served. In the television episode, Frank Costanza began it with the phrase, "I got a lotta problems with you people, and now you're going to hear about it!" It consists of each person given a chance to lash out at both their dinner companions and the world in general, and tell them how they've disappointed them during the past year. Some mental health professionals believe that having a space for people to air some of their grievances to their families and friends could actually be good for
mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...
, although it is something other holidays usually avoid.


Feats of strength

The "feats of strength" are 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 them to a
wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
match. Tradition states Festivus is not over until the head of the household has been pinned. In "The Strike", however, Kramer manages to circumvent the rule by creating an excuse to leave. The feats of strength are mentioned twice in the episode before they take place. In both instances, no detail was given as to what had 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 occurred.


Festivus miracles

Cosmo Kramer twice declares a "Festivus
miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
" during the Festivus celebration in the Costanza household. Kramer caused the two "miracles" himself, by inviting two off-track betting bookies ( Tracy Letts and Colin Malone) to dinner with Elaine (men whom Elaine wished to avoid), and by causing Jerry's girlfriend Gwen to believe that Jerry is cheating on her.


Wider adoption

Some people, many of them inspired by the ''Seinfeld'' episode, subsequently began to celebrate the holiday with varying degrees of seriousness.
Allen Salkin Allen Salkin is an American journalist, author, and critic who has written for the ''New York Daily News, New York Times,'' and other publications. Education Salkin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California, Berkeley and a ...
's 2005 book ''Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us'' chronicles the early adoption of Festivus. Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut's 2012 book ''A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to Be Jewish references Festivus. Martin Bodek's 2020 book ''The Festivus Haggadah'' fuses
Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...
with Festivus. Others have adopted Festivus as a way of engaging in a non-religious celebration over the traditional holiday season, such as by showcasing winter festivities. During the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...
' run to the
Super Bowl XXXV Super Bowl XXXV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 2000 Baltimore Ravens season, Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 2000 New York Giants season, New York Giant ...
championship in
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, head coach Brian Billick superstitiously issued an organizational ban on the use of the word "playoffs" until the team had clinched its first postseason berth. "
Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
" was instead referred to as "Festivus" and the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...
as "Festivus Maximus". In 2005,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
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 Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...
. Doyle's 2005 Festivus pole is now part of the collection of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. In 2010, a
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
story featuring Jerry Stiller detailed the increasing popularity of the holiday, including US Representative
Eric Cantor Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Mino ...
's Festivus fundraiser. ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...
'' reported that Festivus was a top trend on Twitter that year. In 2012, Google introduced a custom search result for the term "Festivus". In addition to the normal results, an unadorned aluminum pole was displayed running down the side of the list of search results and "A festivus miracle!" prefixed the results count and speed. Also in 2012, a Festivus Pole was erected on city property in
Deerfield Beach, Florida Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County line. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,859, making it the Broward County# ...
, alongside religious-themed holiday displays. A similar Festivus pole was displayed next to religious displays in the
Wisconsin State Capitol The Wisconsin State Capitol, located in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Governor of Wisconsin, Office of the Governor. Completed in 1917, the building is the ...
, along with a banner provided by the
Freedom From Religion Foundation The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for atheism, atheists, agnosticism, agnostics, and nontheism, nontheists. Formed in 1976, FFRF promotes the separation of church and state, and ch ...
advocating for the separation of government and religion. In 2013 and 2014, Chaz Stevens erected a Festivus pole constructed with of beer cans next to a
nativity scene In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmastide, Christmas season, of ar ...
and other religious holiday displays in the
Florida State Capitol The Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Florida, is an architecturally and historically significant building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Capitol is at the intersection (road), intersection of Apalachee Parkway and F ...
Building, as a protest supporting
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
. In 2015, the same man was granted permission to display a Festivus pole decorated with a
gay pride In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...
theme and topped with a disco ball to celebrate the United States Supreme Court's decision on same-sex marriage, at state capitols in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Washington. In 2016, US Senator
Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
released a special Festivus edition of ''The Waste Report''. The Festivus "airing of grievances" has become an annual tradition for Paul on Twitter. In 2016, the ''
Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...
'' became the first newspaper to allow anyone to submit Festivus grievances through its website, with the promise to publish them on December 23, the day of the Festivus holiday. The ''Times'' continues to solicit and publish grievances from around the world annually. An annual public Festivus celebration has been held in Pittsburgh since 2005, featuring live bands, a ''Seinfeld'' trivia contest, and holiday traditions. In 2017, the ''
Pittsburgh City Paper The ''Pittsburgh City Paper'' is Pittsburgh's leading alternative weekly newspaper which focuses on local news, opinion, and arts and entertainment. It bought out ''In Pittsburgh Weekly'' in 2001. As of April 2015, ''City Paper'' is the 14th ...
'' called its 13th iteration "the longest-running celebration of Sein-Culture in the 'Burgh". In 2018,
Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...
City Council (
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, Australia) named a lane "Festivus Lane" in the suburb of Corrimal. The name was chosen as the celebration of Festivus started by locals grew to become a local annual fixture. In 2021, WWE world heavyweight wrestling Champion Big E started wearing custom-designed singlets on-air adorned with catchphrases and images of ''Seinfeld''s version of Festivus.


Attempts at national recognition

In 2022, the official ''Seinfeld'' social media accounts created a petition on the website change.org to make Festivus a national holiday on December 23, and encouraged the use of the hashtag #MakeFestivusOfficial. The video promoting the petition notes that Festivus is as worthy of recognition as other unofficial national holidays, such as National Bagel Day,
Boss's Day Boss's Day (also written Bosses Day or Boss' Day) is generally observed on October 16 in the United States. It has been pitched as a day for employees to thank their bosses for being kind and fair throughout the year. It has been described as a H ...
, and Hug a Musician Day.


See also

* * * Takanakuy – December 25th tradition of drunken holiday combat resolving open grievances, from the Chumbivilcas Province, near
Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...
, Peru


References

{{authority control 1966 introductions Criticism of the commercialization of Christmas December observances Seinfeld Unofficial observances Culture of the United States Secular holidays