Posted on 12/21/2005 11:36:24 AM PST by Cagey
ALTERNATIVE CELEBRATIONS: Pole for the holidays
Celebrating the holidays with a diverse group of friends can get tricky. That's where Festivus, the "holiday for the rest of us," comes in.
Invented in 1966 by a Reader's Digest editor but made popular through a 1997 "Seinfeld" episode, the fictional celebration has been brought to life by fervent supporters across the country - including Clarkston native Blake Coe.
According to the "Seinfeld" episode, Festivus is celebrated on Dec. 23 and is marked by a tinsel-free aluminum pole, feats of strength - like wrestling - and the airing of grievances, during which followers tell loved ones how they have disappointed them during the year.
Though Coe, 24, also celebrates Christmas, he said Festivus is a welcome break from the holidays.
"With all of the things that now make the Christmas season about political correctness, over-commercialization and greed, it is refreshing that Festivus separates itself from that," said Coe, who has been celebrating the fictional holiday for five years.
Coe recently moved to Chicago, but he'll be home in Clarkston for Festivus. On Saturday, Coe's parents, Sally and Ken, put up the pole. Grandma was there, too.
Coe said he bought the aluminum pole - a centerpiece of Festivus celebrations - a few years ago at Home Depot for $5. However, merchants are now selling them online for almost $40. "I wish we had thought of that at the time," Blake Coe said, laughing.
The term "Festivus" yields more than 20,000 Web sites in monthly Google searches, said Allen Salkin, who tracked the figures for his new book, "Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us," which was released in October by Warner Books.
"Nobody else is writing about it, but it is out there - a very deep and widespread subculture," Salkin said. "I think it has to do with a need for tolerance and a holiday where you don't exclude anybody."
Coe and his friends observe the feats of strength by holding annual billiards and video game tournaments. As for the airing of grievances - "we pretty much go around and talk about each other's less finer moments," said Pat Heber, a Clarkston resident who recently graduated from Michigan State University.
Typically, the feats of strength, or aggression-absorbing activities, are held immediately after the airing of grievances, but there are no hard and fast rules, Salkin said.
That flexibility makes it easy for everyone to celebrate Festivus, he added.
But not everyone will. Elizabeth Zill of Frankenmuth, who is featured in Salkin's book, said one Festivus celebration was enough for her family. A few years ago, Zill strung lights around a metal coat rack and presented it to her teenage daughter as an alternative to the Christmas tree the family never bought.
"Oh, my daughter was ticked at me," Zill said, laughing. "George didn't find it too amusing either," she added, referring to "Seinfeld" character George Costanza (Jason Alexander), who was less than thrilled about his father's idea. "I have a George."
Good job, that actually made me laugh out loud. Now my husband is preening that he must be some sort of minor diety to bring me this holiday to me every day. :)
Ooh - Rebelbase, can you add me too? We're hooked on Seinfeld reruns!
If its in the news it must be so.........
If it ain't so yet, the media will make it so.......
Whats the URL ?
Who is being excluded? Perhaps those who wish to be?????? I'm sick of this stuff.........
Give me a sec....I'm pretty sure I can find it!
The ironic thing is that they do not celebrate "Festivus" in Poland (Poleland).
Thanks. The in-laws are in town so the grievances should be easy ;-)
You bet your petunia I am. It's on as we speak.
It is on, I'm watching it with all the folk at Van Delay Industries.
I feel the Festivus magic.
"We had some good times."
This is Kwaanza for white folks.
You, my friend, have no sense of humor...I'm sure the airing of grienvances for you would be quite extensive.
"Coal Now Too Expensive To Put In Christmas Stockings
December 21, 2005 | Issue 41.51
CHICAGO- With winter's onset driving the demand for surface coal to
record-high levels, the mineral's cost is now beyond the reach of low- and
middle-income Americans who wish to punish their naughty children.
"Coal in one's stocking is meant to serve as an admonishment or warning, not
as a dependable grade-B investment," said William Menchell, a commodities
adviser for T. Rowe Price. "In today's market, children should only have
their stockings stuffed with lumps of coal if they have been studious and
obedient, and show an interest in long-term investments in the energy
sector."
For more affordable punitive options, analysts point to the relatively
stagnant switch market, which could soon go the way of coal if demand
increases for combustible wooden sticks."
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