Festivus

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Festivus Pole

Festivus [ ˈfɛstɪvəs ] is a parodic counter-draft to the classic family Christmas party, inspired by the sitcom Seinfeld , that has no historical or religious significance. Features include setting up a simple metal pole ( Festivus Pole ) in place of the Christmas tree and also expressing complaints about anger and disappointment that the family members present at dinner have caused ( Airing of Grievances ) as well as a battle of strength between the head of the family and one of them selected table mates ( Feats of Strength ).

Origin and Effect

"Happy Festivus" kippa

The Festivus ceremony, as written by screenwriter Dan O'Keefe with Jeff Schaffer and Alec Berg for the Seinfeld episode The Strike , was originally written by his father, journalist Daniel L. O'Keefe, in the 1960s Celebration invented for his family.

Since the episode was first broadcast on December 18, 1997, it has found many fans as an “anti-festival” and has been adopted as a “consumer-critical alternative to the classic Christmas festival”. Of the elements of the fictional version, the setting up of the pole beyond the original context was taken up, in part as a criticism of the public exhibition of religious symbols. As an alternative to the conventional family Christmas, the series gag developed an unexpected, widespread effect that continues to this day, with the result that Festivus events are still practiced to this day. In addition, “Festivus” advanced to become one of the best-known terms in the so-called Seinlanguage - a fund of word creations that were popularized by the broadcast of the series. According to Willem Strank, research associate at the Institute for Modern German Literature and Media at Kiel University, Festivus does not have the popularity of the term “Yada Yada Yada” from the episode The Yada-Yada thing . Together with “Yada Yada Yada” and the calming phrase “Serenity Now” from the eponymous episode, “Festivus” is one of the most well-known creations of the Seinlanguage.

In the US, Christmas Day, December 25th, is the only national holiday with religious roots. Its importance is not shared by a significant minority. With that in mind, Festivus like Chrismukkah has become popular among people looking for a secular holiday party, especially the younger generation American Jews. In December 2004 the Chicago Tribune published a series of articles comparing the popularity of Chrismukkah and Festivus. Festivus emerged as the winner because it avoids any religious meaning. The author concluded that Festivus was a holiday party to which atheists and agnostics could be invited.

further reading

  • Ilona Mikkonen, Domen Bajdeb: Happy Festivus! Parody as Playful Consumer Resistance . In: Consumption Markets & Culture 16: 4, 2013, pp. 311-337 ( doi: 10.1080 / 10253866.2012.662832 ).
  • Mark Nelson: Festivus! The Book. A Complete Guide to the Holiday for the Rest of Us. CreateSpace, San Bernardino, CA 2015, ISBN 978-1-5115-5639-2
  • Eric Shouse, Bernard Timberg: A Festivus for the Restivus: Jewish-American Comedians Respond to Christmas as the National American Holiday. In: Humor 25: 2, 2012, pp. 133–153 ( doi: 10.1515 / humor-2012-0008 ).
  • Allen Salkin: Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us , Grand Central Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-0-446-69674-6

Web links

Commons : Festivus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eric Michael Mazur: Judaism , in: John C. Lyden, Eric Michael Mazur: The Routledge Companion to Religion and Popular Culture , Routledge 2015, ISBN 978-0-415-63866-1 , p. 489
  2. ^ Daniel L. O'Keefe. Obituary, The New York Times, September 17, 2012
  3. ↑ Joshua Eli Plaut: Chrismukkha and Festivus: Holidays for the Rest of Us , in: ders .: A Kosher Christmas , Rutgers University Press 2012, ISBN 978-0-8135-5380-1 , p. 157. (Review of the book: Sunday Book Review, The New York Times) ; Plaut is a historian, cultural anthropologist, and rabbi of the Metropolitan Synagogue in Manhattan. Website Jewish Book Council
  4. ↑ MERRY CHRISTMAS ... - ER - HOLIDAYS! , De Gruyter Advent Calendar 2014
  5. ↑ Governor Doyle's 'Festivus' Pole. In: Wisconsin Historical Society, December 13, 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  6. ↑ Festivus: The Google easter egg for the rest of us. In: The National Post, December 12, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  7. ↑ Allen Salkin: Fooey to the World: Festivus Is Come. In: The New York Times, December 19, 2004. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  8. ↑ Brendan Farrington: Festivus For The Rest Of Us! Florida Atheist Successfully Puts Up Beer Can Pole Display. In: The Huffington Post, November 12, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
  9. ^ Willem Strank: Seinfeld . In: Jürgen Müller (ed.): The best TV series. Taschen Verlag, Cologne 2015. ISBN 978-3-8365-4272-2 (p. 58)
  10. ↑ Joshua Eli Plaut, ibid., Pp. 138 / 156f.
  11. ^ "A holiday party where you can invite atheists and agnostics." In: Joshua Eli Plaut, ibid. P. 159