Happy Festivus, everyone!
Festivus, of course, was introduced to the world thanks to a 1997 episode of Seinfeld. Festivus is a protest holiday that takes place on December 23 in response to the commercialization of Christmas. On the show, it was created by Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller).
Frank hilariously explains, “Many Christmases ago, I went to buy a doll for my son. I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.”
Thanks to the popularity of the iconic sitcom, Festivus is now playfully celebrated by many Seinfeld fans the world over. That alone could potentially be considered a “Festivus miracle.”
The Actual Origin of Festivus
While this holiday seems like something cooked up in a writers’ room, Festivus has origins in reality. Seinfeld writer Dan O’Keefe co-wrote the episode honoring Festivus, and it was his father who actually invented it.
In a 2009 Q&A with The Washington Post, O’Keefe shares that many of the one-liners from this Seinfeld episode were created in the writers’ room, except for one. He said, “‘A Festivus for the Rest of Us’ was an actual family Festivus motto, referring initially to those remaining after the death of my father’s mother, and then coming to mean in general a forward-looking focus on life and the living, i.e. ‘Let the dead bury the dead.'”
Later in that same Q&A, O’Keefe shared there was never a set date for Festivus and that it was celebrated “whenever the hell my Dad felt like it.” It was celebrated between September and May. One year, his family didn’t celebrate Festivus at all, while another year, there were two celebrations.
He also revealed it wasn’t until he was eight years old that he realized his Dad made up Festivus. He came to this realization after sharing with another kid on his school bus that his family celebrated Festivus the previous night, and this other kid had no idea what he was talking about.
Now, before the “Airing of Grievances” or the “Feats of Strength,” consider looking back on the countless Seinfeld-isms that have become part of the pop culture lexicon. Think of it as another “Festivus Miracle,” if you will.