A Festivus for the Rest of Us!

In late 1997, Dec. 18 to be exact, the holiday of Festivus, celebrated on Dec. 23, was introduced to the masses by an episode of "Seinfeld." The episode was entitled "The Strike."

Festivus was created by a man named Dan O'Keefe in the 1960s to celebrate the anniversary of O'Keefe's first date with his future wife Deborah. O'Keefe's son Daniel was a writer for the smash hit '90s comedy "Seinfeld."

In the episode, George Costanza's hilarious dad, Frank Costanza, played by Jerry Stiller, celebrated Festivus as an alternative to the over-commercialization of Christmas.

I personally, as a Christian, am not in favor of celebrating Festivus as an alternative to Christmas. However, I do believe a person can celebrate both. Christmas, you see, has become so expensive, so incredibly commercialized and about everything but the birth of Christ to millions of people, I believe Festivus is a way to celebrate the season without all the Happy Holiday or Season's Greetings vs Merry Christmas politicized debate. Festivus is an inexpensive way to lighten up from all the stress of having to buy gifts for an ever-growing legion of family and worrying about whether Christmas and all the gift-giving is going to break the bank account.

In the "Seinfeld" episode from 1997, writer Daniel O'Keefe changed a few details of the Festivus festivities from his younger days. In the show, Festivus was celebrated as a result of Frank Costanza fighting with another man reaching for the last doll on the shelf as a gift to his quirky son George.

"There's got to be a better way," Costanza recalled as he recounted "raining blows" on the other shopper. From that point on, the Costanzas celebrated with an unadorned aluminum pole; " I find tinsel distracting," Frank opined.

Other aspects of Festivus were the family Festivus dinner, at which the participants engaged in the Airing of Grievances. At dinner, each family member would tell the others any ways in which each had disappointed him or her in the past year.

Even the most mundane happenings were proclaimed "Festivus Miracles." Festivus dinner was concluded with the "Feats of Strength," in which someone had to pin the head of the household in a wrestling match. Only when the pinning occurred would the Festivus festivities conclude.

In the episode, Cosmo Kramer, played by Michael Richards, went back to work at H&H Bagels after a 12-year strike, after H&H agreed to pay employees the wages they were seeking... 12 years before, without accounting for inflation and the raising of the minimum wage.

When his boss won't let Kramer off work on the day of Festivus, Kramer walks yet again. Kramer winds up carrying a picket sign reading "Festivus Yes, Bagels No!"

George Costanza hits up co-workers for contributions to something called the "Human Fund," an outfit that exists only in George's mind. When the "dim-witted, short, stocky bald man" Costanza is called on his scam by his boss, Krueger, George claims he is being discriminated against for celebrating Festivus.

Krueger can only be convinced of the legitimacy of Festivus by going with George to his parents' home for the Festivus celebration. Of course, the evening takes several funny turns, this being "Seinfeld," and all the different vignettes wind up fitting together by the end of the show.

As for Festivus itself, the "holiday" has continued to grow in the last 13 years. A few years ago, there was a book by Allen Salkin about Festivus titled "The Holiday For The Rest Of Us," and every year the festivities have been celebrated by more and more people.

The way my family and I choose to celebrate, since there are no public Festivus celebrations locally, is to ignore the Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength. After all, isn't there enough conflict in everyday life without reciting all the negatives? Do families really want to emulate the Costanzas of "Seinfeld?"

No thanks, I say to that. The way we celebrate Festivus is to watch "Seinfeld" reruns on TBS after a relaxing day of, as Kramer chanted in the H&H strike, "No bagles, no bagels, no bagels" and a few laughs as we prepare for last-minute Christmas shopping and the like.

Our Festivus plan for this year is to go see the Coen brothers' remake of "True Grit" at a nearby cinema. The film was not shot locally, but most of the picture is supposed to take place in the Fort Smith, AR, area where we live. I just might have a review of the film in a day or two after the smoke clears from Christmas.

Thank you and Happy Festivus! Finishing this project before deadline (barely)? It's another Festivus miracle!