Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season. Originally created by author Daniel O’Keefe, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 Seinfeld episode ‘The Strike’ The non-commercial holiday’s celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, occurs on December23.
About Festivus in brief
Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season. Originally created by author Daniel O’Keefe, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 Seinfeld episode ‘The Strike’, which was written by his son, Dan. The non-commercial holiday’s celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, occurs on December23. It has been described both as a parody holiday festival and as a form of playful consumer resistance. It is the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering, according to journalist Allen Salkin. It was conceived by author and editor Daniel O’Keefe, the father of TV writer Dan O‘Keefe, and was celebrated by his family as early as 1966. In 1982, Daniel O’sKeefe wrote a book, Stolen Lightning: The Social Theory of Magic, that deals with idiosyncratic ritual and its social significance, a theme relevant to Festvus tradition. It’s now celebrated on December 23, as shown in the Seinfeld episode written by the younger O’Keefe. The episode was first broadcast on December 18, 1997. The plot revolves around Cosmo Kramer returning to work at his old job, H&H Bagels. Kramer then becomes interested in resurrecting the holiday when, at the bagel shop, Frank Costanza tells him how he created FestivUS.
George creates donation cards for a fake charity called The Human Fund in lieu of having to give office Christmas presents. When his boss, Mr. Kruger, questions George about a USD 20,000 check he gave George to donate to the Human Fund as a corporate donation, George hastily concocts the excuse that he made up the Human fund because he feared persecution for his beliefs. Kramer eventually goes back on strike from his bagel-vendor job when his manager tells him he cannot take December 23 off to celebrate his new-found holiday. Kramer is then seen on the sidewalk picketing H & H Bagels, carrying a sign reading \”Festvus yes! Bagels no!\” and chanting to anyone passing the store: \”Hey! No bagel, no bagel,. no bagels, no Bagel…. \”Finally, at Frank’s in Queens, Elaine, Kramer, and George gather to celebrate Fest Vivus. George brings the house down to prove to him that Festivu is too real to prove. We could have sat in a room for a billion years and we would never have made it up, Jeff Schaffer later reflected. There’s a nuance to reality that sometimes is just perfect.
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This page is based on the article Festivus published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 24, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
