In 1997, Seinfeld gave the world “Festivus,” a unique holiday introduced by George Costanza’s father, Frank. With its slogan, “A Festivus for the rest of us!” the celebration was created as an antidote to the over-commercialization of the season. In a Seinfeld episode called “The Strike,” Frank explained that the idea was born after an unfortunate shopping altercation over a doll—leading him to invent a simpler, no-frills celebration.
But where does the holiday really come from? And how do you celebrate Festivus? Here’s a complete guide to this quirky cultural phenomenon.
Where did the idea for Festivus come from?
As the story goes, Dan O’Keefe was a writer for the hit sitcom, and Festivus was the unfortunate celebration of his youth that he incorporated into the series.
He was first introduced to the holiday by his father. And what started as a day to commemorate the anniversary of his father’s first date with his mother gradually evolved into something stranger and stranger as the years went on. In O’Keefe’s book, The Real Festivus: The True Story Behind America’s Favorite Made-up Holiday, he explains that the real holiday was far more unusual than its fictional counterpart. “I was tired of Festivus from the time I was first made to celebrate it in the mid-1970s,” O’Keefe told The Journal News as reported by Cincinatti.com. “I haven’t gotten any more or less tired of it.”
How did Festivus make its way into the show?
It was at a party that the producers of Seinfeld were attending where O’Keefe’s brother started diving into the lore of Festivus. When Jerry Seinfeld got wind of the unique holiday, he liked it. “I say I don’t think it’s funny, I think it’s actually just kind of horrifying. And also, I don’t think anyone’s gonna like it. I think it’s just too weird, it’ll turn off the audience,” he shared with The Journal News of the discussion in the writers’ room. Obviously, he was outnumbered and the rest was TV history.
How do you celebrate Festivus?
When it comes to celebrating Festivus, keep your Christmas trees, stockings, tinsel and garland packed up in the attic—you won’t need it. All you’ll need is an aluminum Festivus pole, no decorations are necessary. After all, according to the holiday’s inventor, he finds tinsel to be “distracting.” And all of that hardly scratches the surface. When celebrating Festivus, the most significant part of the holiday is at the celebratory dinner when the “Airing of Grievances” takes place.
During this segment of the holiday, you have the opportunity to air out all of the times in which your loved ones disappointed you throughout the year. Another aspect of the celebration is the “Feats of Strength.” This post-Festivus-dinner wrestling match puts two celebrators, one being the head of the household, head to head.
And now, Festivus lives on as an integral piece of the pop-culture puzzle. After all, starting a family dinner with, “I’ve got a lot of problems with you people, and now you’re gonna hear about it!” as Frank Costanza did is about as iconic as it gets. It’s a Festivus miracle!
