Tuesday open thread: A Festivus for the rest of us!
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| By DRosenbach at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12418674 |
I am not a huge fan of the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld. I found the characters absolutely unlikeable and unwatchable. And don't get me started on how they all affected these whiny, annoying voices. And, of course, the show's New York City, much like Woody Allen's, seemed to be devoid of Black and Latin people.
However, most everything has something to like. And for Seinfeld, that has to be Festivus.
A Festivus for the rest of us! I quote from Wikipedia to give a short precis on this most wondrous of holidays.
Festivus was conceived by author and editor Daniel O'Keefe, the father of television writer Dan O'Keefe, and was celebrated by his family as early as 1966. While the Latin word fēstīvus means "excellent, jovial, lively",[5] and derives from fēstus, meaning "joyous; holiday, feast day",[6][7][8] Festivus in this sense was coined by the elder O'Keefe. According to him, the name "just popped into my head".[1] 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.[9] 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.[10][11]
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.[12]
It is now celebrated on December 23, as depicted in the Seinfeld episode written by the younger O'Keefe.[2]
In the episode, Frank Costanza, played by the tzaddik Jerry Stiller, explains to Kramer that he created Festivus as an antidote to the crass commercialization which surrounded traditional Christmas celebrations. The rest of the episode revolves around the Festivus dinner which George ropes everyone into so that he can get out of work as a "religious" holiday.
There are five main pillars to Festivus:
It's all very silly and very wacky and, to be frank, we need that in our lives. So today, air your grievances! Engage in feats of strength! And maybe, just maybe, we'll be graced with a Festivus miracle. (And I'm sure I know which one we all want.)
Happy Festivus!