And now, the airing of grievances.
Posted on 12/22/2006 10:21:13 AM PST by yochanan
Sales of Festivus poles grow for 'Seinfeld' holiday
By DINESH RAMDE
The Associated Press
MILWAUKEE -- Kevin Campanella hates buying and receiving Christmas presents that he says inevitably disappoint. This year, no such worries.
Campanella plans to seek "serenity now" by celebrating Festivus, a wacky holiday popularized in a 1997 "Seinfeld" episode. Billed as "Festivus for the rest of us," the holiday celebrated by the Costanza clan on Dec. 23 features an airing of grievances and feats of strength in which a guest must pin the host before the party ends.
In protest of Christmas' commercialism, character Frank Costanza puts up an unadorned aluminum pole instead of a tree. The metal, he says admiringly, has a "very high strength-to-weight ratio."
"I just always loved that episode," said Campanella, 28, a landscaper from Warwick, R.I. "But it's not so much about the show -- I think the idea of Festivus is a good idea."
So does The Wagner Companies. The Milwaukee-based maker of hand-railing components is bringing back its line of Festivus poles for the holiday season. The company had plenty of metal rails on hand already and launched the product last year on a whim.
"We did it mainly as a lark. We never looked at it as a tremendous moneymaking scheme," said Tony Leto, the firm's executive vice president of sales and marketing. "But in many ways, Festivus is taking on a life of its own."
Wagner, which made $15 million last year from products including handrail brackets and pipe elbows, earned only a few thousand dollars from Festivus pole sales. Leto said the company received some media publicity upon launch of the poles but he credits bloggers with strong "Seinfeld" loyalties for spreading the news far and wide.
Wagner sold about 250 poles in 2005, with around 100 sales coming from the firm's 120 employees. This season, it sold about 300 poles by mid-December and was on pace to sell twice that number by Saturday, Leto said.
Wagner offers a 6-foot Festivus pole for $38 and a 2-foot-8-inch tabletop model for $30.
fyi ping.
We actually have a Festivus Pole in our office. One of our Finance Managers has a strange sense of humor.
And now, the airing of grievances.
Made up holidays for $1000, Alex.
This made up holiday is the most celebrated made up holiday in the world,
What is Kwanzaa?
No, sorry. The answer is "What is Festivus".
Better Festivus than Kwanzaa
Not that there's anything wrong with that.... (indulge me)
"In protest of Christmas' commercialism, character Frank Costanza puts up an unadorned aluminum pole"
"Wagner offers a 6-foot Festivus pole for $38 and a 2-foot-8-inch tabletop model for $30"
How much longer until Festivus becomes too commercialized??? :)
Festivus Bump
Happy Ramahanukwansmas to you!
https://members.premiereinteractive.com/ows-img/glennbeck/pages/28585/41408.htm
I upbraided the insensitive old coot that it was, in fact, Festivus. The REASON for the SEASON.
Predictably, I'm starting a boycott.
Are YOU ready for the Feats of Strength??
We have a Cartridge in a Bare Tree in our shop office.
There are probably more celebrants of Festivus than Kwanza.
LOL.
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