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| Jerry Stiller was funnier than Ben |
Originally created by author Daniel O'Keefe, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 Seinfeld episode called "The Strike" [1, 2].
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| Festivus pole (complete) |
In it, George's disgruntled Jewish dad, Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller), makes the whole country laugh with recognition by actually doing something to oppose Christian-Pagan Xmas mass consumerism. O'Keefe's son, Dan O'Keefe, co-wrote the immortal episode.
The anti-commercial holiday's celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, occurs on December 23rd 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" [3].
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| Don't call me Jewish! I'm a Festivite now. |
The episode even has a tagline for all anti-Xmas folks who want to join the cultural revolution against humbug, Christmas fakery (and Chanukkah/Hanukkah mimicry of what the Goyim/Gentiles are up to), and commercial profiteering: "Festivus for the rest of us!"
It has been described both as a parody holiday festival and as a form of playful consumer resistance.[4] Journalist Allen Salkin describes it as "the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering" [1]. More
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