Sports Festivus 2012
It’s that time of the year again, so dust off your aluminum pole and get ready to air your grievances. That’s right, people, it’s December 23 — also known as Festivus.
As NewsFeed explained last year, Festivus is a made-up holiday popularized — and, really, immortalized — by a 1997 episode of Seinfeld called “The Strike.” It was originally the brainchild of a former Readers’ Digest editor named Dan O’Keefe (father of Seinfeld writer Daniel O’Keefe), who began the tradition in 1966 – according to a 2004 New York Times article. O’Keefe said the word just popped into his head one day, and soon, Festivus began to evolve as a wacky family tradition. That is, until the younger O’Keefe adapted it into the classic Seinfeld story line, transforming it into a national pop culture phenomenon.
In the episode, George Costanza begrudgingly explains to his friends that his father, Frank, dreamed up Festivus as a less commercial alternative to Christmas — “a Festivus for the rest of us.” Traditions include the erecting of an aluminum Festivus pole and two key practices – Airing of Grievances and Feats of Strength. As you might imagine, George doesn’t mind the former too much; but he loathes the latter.
Sports Festivus.
Christmas shopping got you down? Have a few sports complaints from 2012? Find tinsel distracting? If you answered “yes” to any of these question – or have previously enjoyed hockey – then we’ve got the holiday for you: Sports Festivus.
Welcome, newcomers. The tradition of Sports Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. Fans have a lotta problems with the teams, general managers, owners and players that they’ve been following during 2012. Now, you’re going to hear about them.
If you didn’t already know that Festivus is for the rest of us then you should probably take a moment to watch the classic clip from Seinfeld.
Happy Festivus! No holiday season could ever be complete without the annual celebration of Festivus which officially takes place today, December 23. If you’re not familiar with the celebration of Festivus you definitely are not a fan of the hit show “Seinfeld,” or don’t surf the internet too often for unique holiday celebrations.
Either way, adding Festivus traditions to your holiday parties or celebrations can add a lot of fun and laughter to your day.
Taking place annually on December 23rd, Festivus is a non-denominational holiday that started back in 1997 when the Seinfeld television show aired an episode that changed the holiday season for millions of fans everywhere.
The show titled “The Strike” first aired on Dec. 18, 1997 explained how George Costanza’s father Frank fought with another man at a department store over a gift they both reached for at the same time. After a fight ensued, Frank Costanza decided he had enough of the “commercial side” of Christmas.
Thus, he came up with a new celebration called Festivus, and the slogan was born – Festivus: A Holiday for the rest of us!
Fans of the holiday can order Festivus books, and cards to go along with celebrating the annual traditions.
Some of the traditions include:
1 – An aluminum pole – no tree needed for this holiday.
2 – The Airing of the Grievances – A chance to tell your family and friends what you really think of them!
3 – Festivus Dinner – Your choice here, but meatloaf is recommended!
4 – The Feats of Strength – The head of the household chooses who he will wrestle with to prove who is stronger.