Festivus
| Festivus | |
|---|---|
Festivus pole
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| Type | Secular |
| Significance | A holiday celebrated as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas holiday season. |
| Celebrations | Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, the aluminum pole, Festivus dinner, Festivus miracles |
| Date | December 23 |
| Next time | December 23, 2017 |
| Frequency | annual |
Festivus is both a parody and a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season. Originally a family tradition of scriptwriter Dan O'Keefe, who worked on the American sitcom Seinfeld, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 episode "The Strike".
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", referencing its open-source nature and non-commercial character. It has been described both as a parody holiday festival and as a form of playful consumer resistance. Journalist Allen Salkin describes it as "the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering".
Festivus was conceived by author and editor Daniel O'Keefe, the father of TV writer Dan O'Keefe, and was celebrated by his family as early as 1966. The word Festivus in this sense was coined by the elder O'Keefe, and 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 ritual and its social significance, a theme relevant to Festivus tradition.
The English word festive derives from Latin "festivus", an adjective meaning "excellent, jovial, lively, which in turn derives from festus "joyous; holiday, feast day".
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