WOODS RAYNOR Every year, millions of people across the United States spend hundreds of billions of dollars on gifts, decor, postage, food, and other kitsch to prepare for the winter holiday season. Forbes estimates that over $1 trillion will be spent this year by Americans as part of their Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa celebrations. But this rampant consumerism can lead to conflicts between consumers, and because of this, it is important that the public know that there is an alternative way to celebrate the holiday season. Introduced in episode ten of the ninth season of the acclaimed sitcom Seinfeld, the annual holiday of Festivus is a perfect way to celebrate the holidays and upcoming new year.
As told by Jerry Stiller’s Seinfeld character Frank Costanza, Festivus is celebrated anually on the 23rd of December. Costanza states the origin of the holiday by recounting an encounter he had with another Christmas shopper several years prior. “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,” Costanza tells Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards). After Kramer questions what happened to the doll that the two were quarreling over, Costanza explains: “It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born: a Festivus for the rest of us!” Standard Festivus proceedings include the following four components (in order):
This year, rather than participating in the traditional celebrations of the holiday season, go out and purchase a pole, air your grievances, feast at the table, perform feats of strength, and celebrate Festivus with the rest of us.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
The Eagle's EyeBest of the Nest since 1981 Archives
January 2018
|