Festivus briefly shares space with nativity scene-ACLU Objects to Nativity

Boston Herald ^ | 12/24/04 | AP

[kattracks]

BARTOW, Fla. - When a church group put a nativity scene on public property, officials warned it might open the door to other religious - and not-so-religious - displays. They were right.
      Since the nativity was erected in Polk County, displays have gone up honoring Zoroastrianism and the fake holiday Festivus, featured on the TV show ``Seinfeld.''
      The Polk County Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to permit the nativity scene to remain across the street from the courthouse, as well as to make that area a ``public forum'' open to any type of display.
      But the commission insisted that unless someone claims a particular display and submits a written request asking it remain, it would be removed. By Wednesday evening, no one had claimed the Festivus display, and the commission said it would come down; a woman claimed the Zoroastrianism display, which was to stay.
      The debate began Dec. 15 when a handmade creche with the figures of Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus was erected by a Bible study group from the First Baptist Church of Bartow.
      ``The real spirit of Christmas is the birth of Christ,'' said Marvin Pittman, a retired law enforcement officer and parishioner. ``We felt it needs to be in the public eye, so we did it.''
      Other displays are fine, too, he said, adding, ``If somebody wants to do that, it's their right.''
      And true to form, the site almost immediately sprouted alternative displays, including a simple sign that reads: ``Festivus for the Rest of Us - Donated to Polk County by the Seinfeld Fan Club.''

      The display, a reference to the fake holiday featured on an episode of the television sitcom, did not include the totem of Festivus - a bare aluminum pole instead of a tree. Key rituals of Festivus include accusing others of being a disappointment and wrestling.
      Another display celebrating Zoroastrianism was erected by Stella Darby, who wanted to encourage people to research the ancient Persian religion.
      Richard Blank, a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, objected to the nativity scene's presence on public property, arguing it violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
      ``The nativity scene is totally celebratory of the birth of Christ,'' he said. ``Not everyone subscribes to that, and those who do should put it on their own property.''
      But a board member who voted to allow the creche as part of the ``public forum'' disagreed with Blank. ``A group had asked to display a scene important to their beliefs; I felt we shouldn't suppress their right to do so,'' said Commissioner Samuel K. Johnson.

[kattracks]

Richard Blank, a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, objected to the nativity scene's presence on public property,...

But he didn't see anything wrong with the Zoroastrianism display.

Hypocrite!

[goldstategop]

Proof the ACLU is motivated by an anti-Christian animus. "Separation of religion and state" is simply a smokescreen to drive Christianity from the public square. If the ACLU really believed in it as a matter of principle, it would call for the removal of menorahs and totems to Festivus. The only religion the ACLU really fears is Christianity. Now y'all know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

[No Surrender Monkey]

Wait a minute: Festivus is a REAL holiday? I thought Kramer invented it.

[goldstategop]

No Festivus is a sort of Zoroastrian Santa Claus. The funny thing about liberal multi-culturalism is that it obliges the Left to refrain from dissing non-Christian faiths.

[Inspectorette]

Was Kramer or was it the inimitable Frank Costanza?

[No Surrender Monkey]

Never forget that despite Mohammed's repeated orders to kill the non-believer, Islam is a religion of peace.

[No Surrender Monkey]

You're right. It was Frank. He also browbeat Georege Steinbrenner for trading Jay Buhner. Frank was a perceptive guy.

[Khurkris]

Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) shows the aluminum pole his family has used in past Festivus celebrations to Jerry Seinfeld (played by himself)

Festivus From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) shows the aluminum pole his family has used in past Festivus celebrations to Jerry Seinfeld (played by himself)

Festivus is a nondenominational holiday popularized by Seinfeld, a popular American television sitcom of the 1990s. It was featured on episode number 166 of the show, entitled The Strike, which first aired on 18 December 1997. Many fans of Seinfeld now celebrate the fictional holiday in real life.

Festivus is celebrated each year on December 23. Its slogan is "A Festivus for the rest of us!"

The character Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) created it as an alternative holiday in response to the commercialization of Christmas. He explained its origins during the episode to the character Cosmo Kramer (played by Michael Richards), as seen in the following dialogue:

Frank Costanza: 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.
Cosmo Kramer: What happened to the doll?
Frank Costanza: It was destroyed. But out of that a new holiday was born . . . a Festivus for the rest of us!
Cosmo Kramer: That must've been some doll.
Frank Costanza: She was!
In the episode, Kramer had become interested in resurrecting the holiday after hearing the plight of his friend—Frank Costanza's son—George, who used the holiday celebration he hated in his youth as a defensive excuse to his employer, Kruger (played by Daniel Von Bargen). George had been confronted by Kruger after handing out cards for Christmas to his fellow employees stating a donation had been made to a fake charity called The Human Fund ("Money For People") in lieu of exchanging Christmas presents. George defended himself saying that he feared persecution for his beliefs, for not celebrating Christmas. Calling his bluff, Kruger came home with George to see Festivus in action.
The Festivus idea came to the show through writer Daniel O'Keefe. His father, Dan O'Keefe, had invented a Festivus holiday in 1966, including many of the features later included in Seinfeld.
Main elements of Festivus
The Airing of Grievances
The Festivus celebration includes three major components:
* The Festivus Pole: During Festivus, an unadorned aluminum pole is displayed, apparently in opposition to the commercialization of decorated Christmas trees, and because the holiday's creator, Frank Costanza, "find[s] tinsel distracting." Local customs have changed and you may be able to decorate your pole with non-threatening plain decorations.
* The Airing of Grievances: At the Festivus dinner, a participant tells friends and family all of the instances where they disappointed him or her that year.
* The Feats of Strength: The head of the family tests his or her strength against one participant of the head's choosing. Festivus is not considered over until the head of the family has been pinned. A participant is allowed to decline to attempt to pin the head of the family only if they have something better to do instead.

[horse_doc]

In the 7th century, the Sassanid Persians and their Zoroastrainism came within an ace of extinguishing Christianity. The Eastern Roman Empire was on the ropes, and the Western Roman Empire no longer existed.

The Byzantine emperor Heraclius took the remains of the shattered Byzantine army, drilled it to perfection, and marched straight for the religious heart of the Persian empire.

They sacked the sacred city of the Zoroastrians, put out the eternal flame that they worshiped, and polluted their sacred lake with corpses. The Sassanid Empire collapsed, and the last flickers of Christianity roared back to life.

So think of Heraclius and his rag-tag army when you see this woman's pitiful Zoroastrian display.

[xm177e2]

If the ACLU really believed in it as a matter of principle, it would call for the removal of menorahs and totems to Festivus.

Why do you say the ACLU is behind the Festivus setup? They aren't, so there obviously isn't any hypocrisy. Duh. Stop trying to justify special rights for Christianity.

[kattracks]

Out of the three displays two have a religious significance. The ACLU chose to only object to the Christian display.
That's hypocrisy.

[djpg]

"Why do you say the ACLU is behind the Festivus setup?"

I saw nothing in the writer's post to suggest that it was an ACLU setup. He only pointed out an apparent ACLU inconsistency in objecting to one religious display but not to another. Could you explain your reason for interpreting the post as you did?

[goldstategop]

Exactly. I was trying to get across the point that if the ACLU really believed in separating religion from the public square, it wouldn't play favorites.

[Jackknife]

Wait a minute: Festivus is a REAL holiday? I thought Kramer invented it.

It was Mr.Castanza that invented "Fetivus...For the rest of us!"

"And NOW the airing of grievances!"

[searchandrecovery]

But he (aclu rep) didn't see anything wrong with the Zoroastrianism display.

I accuse the ACLU of Religious-Profiling. Specifically, targetting Christianity.

[xm177e2]

The ACLU chose to only object to the Christian display. That's hypocrisy.

Only the Christmas display was up when the ACLU complained; the other displays went up in response to the complaint.

[American in Israel]

Christian persicution is all the rage nowadays.