Festivus (redirected from The Airing of Grievances)

Festivus

December 23

The holiday of Festivus first originated on the "Seinfeld" television program in the 1990s. Regular series character Frank Costanza, father of Jerry Seinfeld's friend George Costanza, invented the holiday when he found that the usual year-end holidays did not fulfill him. Festivus, he explains, is "for the rest of us." To mark Festivus, which he insists his family celebrate, a plain aluminum pole is placed in a bucket of cement. One by one, those present grab the pole and air their grievances about how other people disappointed them in the past year. Frank begins this segment with the phrase: "I gotta lot of problems with some of you people!" After this gripe session comes a contest called the "feats of strength," in which all those present try to subdue the head of the household, and which usually devolves into a wrestling match.
The residents of Erie, Penn., have taken the imaginary holiday of Festivus to heart. Many people in the city and nearby communities throw Festivus parties featuring the aluminum pole and the feats of strength, all in the spirit of good fun.

Celebration day: Dec 23