Festivus: Seinfeld Holiday Clips, History & Traditions (VIDEO)
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Seinfeld fans and disaffected revelers otherwise: Happy Festivus!
As you gather around your aluminum pole, air your grievances and perform feats of strength, it's good to know the origin of the holiday. Most people became aware of the holiday from the 1997 Seinfeld episode called "The Strike" that introduced the celebration to the world. Frank Costanza, played by Jerry Stiller, explained his long-lost celebration to bagel-slinging Kramer, recalling a destroyed doll and a frustration with consumerism. It goes much deeper than that, though.
As writer Dan O'Keefe told the New York Times back in 2004, the holiday actually came from his own father, who originally celebrated it in 1966 as an anniversary of his first date with O'Keefe's mother. Over the years, it became more involved, with traditions such as putting clocks in bags getting added to the equation.
In 2010, Stiller aired his grievances with a shot at Rep. Eric Cantor, who was celebrating the holiday with a fundraiser at the time. The delay in unemployment insurance extension, the slow repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the long way for the 9/11 First Responders relief bill, he said, were upsetting him at the time. Looks liked the airing worked out, too. Festivus for the rest of us!
For all your Festivus celebration tips, click over to Festivusweb.com.
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First Posted: 12/23/11 06:11 PM ET Updated: 12/23/11 06:45 PM ET