It's a Festivus MIRACLE! Seinfeld's winter holiday takes on a new meaning this year
December 23 is Festivus, a special holiday that in pre-pandemic times was reserved for those more apt to want to embrace their inner "bah humbug" than their Christmas spirit. https://t.co/SaLyhf6WcE
- CNN (@CNN) December 23, 2020
If you're a Seinfeld fan and you've been looking forward to the 23rd December for months, I can't blame you. When has there ever been a better year than 2020 for airing grievances?
Festivus was brought to the public's attention on on December 18, 1997 (according to the source), when Jason Alexander's character, George Costanza, told his friends about how his father created a holiday as an alternative to the commercial pressures of Christmas.
The scene in question:
Click to viewSo how does Festivus work? What does it involve?
1. The Aluminium Pole
The tradition of Festivus begins with an aluminium pole with, as Frank Costanza himself would tell you, "a very high strength-to-weight ratio". Tinsel? Decorations? Forget about it. The pole should be left bare, as a stark, harsh, metallic contrast to the garish, glittery, conventional Christmas tree.
2. The Dinner
There are no real traditional meals for Festivus; in the Seinfeld episode, however, Estelle Costanza prepares a sliced reddish meatloaf-shaped food on a bed of lettuce. No alcohol was served.
3. The Airing of Grievances
Now we get into the real spirit of Festivus. The Airing of Grievances takes places immediately after everyone has finished eating. It involves everyone at the table airing their frustrations, rage, and disappointments that everyone else or the world has caused them that year.
4. The Feats of Strength
After all that eating and complaining, it follows that some form of physical release should take place. This occurs in the form of the Feats of Strength, during which the head of the household chooses one personal at the table and challenges them to a wrestling match. Said match only ends after the head of the household has been defeated (pinned to the floor).
Source
Video Source
Now that its origins and all its rules have been explained - ONTD, IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE FESTIVUS! Let's face it - 2020 was a shit year. AIR THOSE GRIEVANCES! Your comments can be as long or short as you want. From the frustration and boredom caused by lockdown to the general anxiety that this pandemic has caused, there's a lot to get off our chests. Or perhaps it's those damn celebrities travelling to the four corners of the world while the rest of us stayed our asses at home. Whatever it us - LET IT OUT HONEY, PUT IT IN THE BOOK.
This post is dedicated to Jerry Stiller, the star of Festivus and who sadly left us earlier this year <3