December 23rd: Festivus in the United States

Festivus is a Festival for the Rest of Us according to the popular series Seinfeld

With the ongoing Christmas season, everybody is busy planning gifts, decorating their homes, deciding cooking menus, planning parties, and much more. This is fun for some people whereas some find it pressurizing and stressful. Well, if you are among the latter, then Happy Festivus to you! Every year on 23rd December, Festivus, the Festival for the rest of us, is celebrated. 

History and Significance of Festivus

In 1997, in an episode of Seinfeld, this holiday Festivus gained popularity. This holiday was created by Daniel O’Keefe, who found the reference to this obscure holiday. In 1966, he celebrated this holiday for the first time. To celebrate the anniversary of his first date of his future wife, he selected the date 23rd December to celebrate Festivus. His son Dan brought this holiday to life on the Seinfeld show, as he is a television scriptwriter. 

Traditions and Celebrations

Unlike Christmas, Festivus does not need a tree, it just needs an unadorned aluminium pole. It is also known to be the symbol of Festivus. In the episode ‘The Strike’ it is shown that one of the traditions is a Festivus Dinner. This meal includes a traditional meatloaf. After the dinner is the ‘Airing of Grievances’ in which people talk about all their problems with one another and the world around them.

The final tradition of this day is the ‘Feats of Strength’. In this tradition, the head of the household selects a member of the family to challenge for a wrestling match. This means that Festivus is not over until the head of the family is pinned.