What is Festivus... It's for the Rest of Us!

Festivus is a nondenominational holiday that is celebrated on December 23rd.  The TV show Seinfeld helped popularize this holiday.  Dan O'Keefe a writer on Seinfeld father discovered the holiday in a book published in 1966.  The O'Keefe family celebrated the holiday for years.  Then Dan told the story of Festivus to the Seinfeld staff and the rest is history.  Today hundreds of thousands celebrate Festivus.

How do I celebrate Festivus?

Festivus is still a new holiday developing traditions.  Most of the traditions are based off the Seinfeld episode.  The most common elements are the Festivus Pole, Festivus Feast, Festivus Fruitcake, Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength.

Most Festivus celebrations today involve a party with a  feast.  The feast can consist of whatever the party holders decide.  There is no standard meal like turkey at Thanksgiving.  For decorations there is an aluminum pole that is set up like a Christmas tree.  Other decorations include lights and other festive decorations.  A Festivus Fruitcake is on display for all to view but not eat.  The Festivus Fruitcake is traditionally kept from year to year as a display.

After the Festivus Feast comes the Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength.  The Airing of Grievance is the time when you tell everyone the ways they disappointed you in the past year.  The Feats of Strength involve a wrestling match and ends Festivus when the loser is pinned.  Both the Airing of Grievance and Feats of Strength are not typically involved in most modern day Festivus celebrations.  They are both traditions of Festivus but do not fit into most modern day celebrations.

I want to Celebrate Festivus!

Below is a clip from the Seinfeld episode featuring Festivus

So now you know what Festivus is... its time to celebrate!