Festivus: What It Is And How It Got Started

It’s that time of year again, and no I don’t mean Christmas. Sure it is Christmas time mind you, but some might not be aware that it is also time to celebrate the hallowed tradition of Festivus! Now, those who are just super knowledgeable about holiday trivia or have watched what has become an iconic episode of Seinfeld are already well aware of what Festivus is, but those who aren’t as familiar, well, you’re in luck, because we’ve got everything you need to know to celebrate Festivus 2020 in style, which is great because today my friends is Festivus.

That’s right, today is Festivus. Every December 23rd dozens all over celebrate Festivus, which was created by author Daniel O’Keefe, though it differs from what would eventually make it into the show. The joke was to take aim at the consumerism and other aspects of Christmas and other holidays that have taken such an important role in annual celebrations, as opposed to whatever inspired the holiday in the first place.

It got a new round of attention thanks to a classic episode of Seinfeld where a Festivus card from Frank Costanza to George ignited curiosity from Kramer in the holiday, much to George’s chagrin. The 1997 episode is actually named The Strike, and was written by O’Keefe’s son Dan O’Keefe. Dan would later reveal what the original Festivus holiday was, explaining that it was something his dad made up to celebrate an anniversary and it would at times be a bit sad.

“It is a fake holiday my dad made up in the ’60s to celebrate the anniversary of his first date with my mother, and it was something that we celebrated as a family in a very peculiar way through the ’70s, and then I never spoke of it again,” O’Keefe told UPROXX. “I had actually forgotten about it because I had blotted it out of my mind.”

It was Dan’s younger brother that spilled the beans on the holiday, thus causing the domino effect that led to its inclusion in the show.

“At the time I was just a terrified staff writer hoping that this episode wouldn’t let everyone in America know that my family suffers from mental illness,” O’Keefe said. “Each Festivus had a theme, which were always depressing. One was, ‘Is there light at the end of the tunnel?’ ‘Are we too easily made glad?’ was one, I believe. My grandmother died the next year and it was ‘A Festivus for the Rest of Us,’ meaning the living and not the departed. It’s pretty god**** weird.”

If you want to celebrate Festivus the Seinfeld way, you need to have the annual Airing of Grievances, which has you and your family and friends gathering around a dinner table (or this year perhaps a Zoom call) to air out all of your complaints about each other and how they’ve let you down over the course of the year. It’s your one time to get everything you’ve held back all year long out in the open, and that is followed by the Feats of Strength event, which has someone wrestling the head of household to show their dominance on the living room floor. If you want it to end, the head of household has to be pinned.

The only thing you’ll need other than grievances and some food is a celebratory pole, which needs to be put up in the corner or center of the room to usher in the Festivus celebration. Now, you’ll have a hard time getting the day off, as Kramer learned the hard way, but don’t let that stop you from having a wonderful Festivus.