Lest We Forget The BIGGEST Holiday This Season
As a master expert in the field of “Seinfeld” trivia, if you mention ‘Festivus’ to me…well, giddy up. We can be friends.
That said – and while I can’t imagine WHY – there are people who have no idea why ‘Festivus’ is what it is. So for those who would like an explanation, allow me to give you the lowdown:
-‘Festivus’ was introduced on an episode of “Seinfeld” in its 9th and final season called The Strike. This aired about halfway through the season on December 18th, 1997, so it really wasn’t until the end of the show’s run when ‘a new holiday was born.’
-‘Festivus’ is celebrated every year on December 23rd as a tongue-in-cheek secular alternative to Hannukah and Christmas. In 2005, episode writer Daniel O’Keefe published a book about the origins of the holiday, The Real Festivus: The True Story Behind America’s Favorite Made-up Holiday.
-One of the subplots of The Strike involves George Costanza’s father, Frank, explaining the history of ‘Festivus’ after George tries to get out of buying gifts for his co-workers by handing out cards for donations being made in their name to “The Human Fund”, a fake charity. When George’s boss finds out there’s no charity he says he celebrates ‘Festivus’, a holiday created by Frank when George was a kid. George says gave out the fake cards to avoid being persecuted for his beliefs.
-George and his boss Mr. Kruger go to George’s parents house for the ‘Festivus’ celebration. During the dinner, various activities including feats of strength and airing of grievances take place all while Kruger is buying into the holiday. The dinner then devolves into chaos. Jerry Stiller as George’s father Frank is FLAWLESS in this episode.
As I’m reading this back I can realize that for a non-Seinfeld fan, this sounds absolutely ridiculous and makes zero sense. So let’s just go to the clip, shall we?