Free Republic

Cereal eaters, terrible dancers, and latex salesmen will be especially welcome in Brooklyn in early July. Jerry Seinfeld wore his Mets fandom on his sleeve during the long run of his eponymous sitcom, and now, one of the team's minor league affiliates is returning the favor. Quite literally, in fact. The Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mets’ short season single A team based in Coney Island, will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the original airing of the “Seinfeld” pilot with a night filled with festivities about nothing, so to speak. On July 5, the team is transforming MCU Park into an arena...

TALLAHASSEE —A nearly 6-foot-tall "Festivus" pole made from empty beer cans will be put up in the Florida Capitol this week as a not-so-subtle protest to the recent placement of a Christmas nativity scene. The mock monument will be erected most likely on Wednesday in the same first-floor rotunda as a nativity scene depicting the birth of Jesus Christ put up last week by the Florida Prayer Network. "I still chuckle, I literally can't believe there will be a pile of Pabst Blue Ribbon cans in the state rotunda," said Chaz Stevens, a Deerfield Beach resident who applied to the...

MURRIETA (CBSLA.com) — It’s the time of the year when Christmas decorations adorn houses for blocks in communities throughout the Southland. But one entry in the Annual Holiday Home Decorating Contest in Murrieta that features a mythical creature from European folklore has sparked complaints from residents. The house in the 37000 block of Floral Creek Circle features a large handcrafted Krampus, who is sometimes referred to as “evil Santa” or the “Christmas devil” and dates back to pre-Christian Germanic traditions. With a doll on its back and a broomstick in its hand, the clawed black creature is perched on the...

There's not a war on Christmas, but in Florida, there's definitely a laugh track. Get ready, Tallahassee, for Festivus. For those of a certain age, the word "Festivus" may bring back happier memories than any real-world holiday. Festivus is a creation of the television show "Seinfeld," a holiday "for the rest of us" designed as a protest against rampant commercialism. And now, as the Orlando Sentinel notes, it's the inspiration for a new display in the Florida state Capitol rotunda..... Festivus includes feats of strength, which local Tallahassee institution Florida State University appears to have covered with its presence in...

REM: This is from Chicagonow, and is just one more example of 'urban culture' that makes me shake my head in disgust. -------------- " ... to celebrate this special time of the year, here are 10 things that my White friends better not discuss with anybody, AT ALL, during the month of February:"

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.,- This year, a Nativity scene in Deerfield Beach, Fla., features a "Festivus pole" made of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans, as well as a Menorah. The pole, a reference to the Dec. 23 atheist "holiday" that became a pop culture hit after being featured in a "Seinfeld" episode, was installed Thursday by activist blogger Chaz Stevens, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported. Stevens said he had been trying to get the city to remove the Nativity scene for five years, and this year he decided to ask for space to express his own beliefs. "It's just 23...

Iran makes frequent announcements about the growth and modernization of its submarine force. The latest press release reveals that Iran is beginning to develop a nuclear powered submarine. On a more substantial level, last December they announced they had put another three of their Ghadir class submarines into service. While the nuclear powered sub project is a mirage, the Ghadir is real, as there are 19 of them in service. What Iran does not issue press releases about is the stuff that doesn't work. Take, for example, the 400 ton Nahang class sub. This was to be the successor to...

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- Rick Santorum is sounding a bit like Newt Gingrich did when he was on the ropes in Florida and Mitt Romney was poised to overtake him in polling there. There was a tone of grievance in his voice that underscored the words he chose on the stump here Friday. "I know sometimes I can get wound up," Santorum told a group of supporters at the Chillicothe High School gymnasium. But, he said, "the words out of my mouth are my own. They're not written by some poll-tested speechwriter."

Happy Festivus everyone!!!! May your Feats of Strength go well and have fun with the Airing of Grievances!

Santa Ana, Calif. (AP) -- An Orange County inmate who disliked salami got special meals after declaring his religious belief in the Festivus holiday celebrated on the television show "Seinfeld."

RFFM.org NEWS Springfield, IL -- Earlier this week, an 18 year old man from Springfield was allowed to put up a symbol at the State Capitol Building Rotunda in recognition of a fictional holiday. Michael Tennenhouse applied for and received a permit from the office of Jesse White, Illinois' Secretary of State. White's office is responsible for issuing permits to groups who desire to participate in a public forum inside Illinois' state Capitol building. Tennenhouse claims he sought permission from White's office to honor something called "Festivus" which was a story line from an episode of the Jerry Seinfeld show....

NEW HAVEN, CT - In an effort to recognize the diverse traditions of the holiday season, the City has installed a Festivus pole in the Market Street square. A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. With the addition of this new holiday centerpiece, the square is now thought to be the most diverse public display of late fall holiday symbols in the country...

OLYMPIA, Wash. - State officials, besieged by requests for more seasonal displays at the state Capitol, have approved several more - including a "Festivus" display honoring a faux holiday popularized by TV comedian Jerry Seinfeld. The new display requests come on top of an anti-religion placard, a Christmas tree and a Christian nativity scene erected earlier this week and a pro-religion sign added Friday. The state General Administration, which runs the state Capitol building, have OK'd four of the requests so far: - On Saturday, Dec. 6: A balloon nativity shelter from a private citizen. - On Sunday, Dec. 7:...

NEW HAVEN, CT (TDR) - In an effort to recognize the diverse traditions of the holiday season, the City has installed a Festivus pole in the Market Street square. A dedication ceremony is scheduled for Saturday afternoon. With the addition of this new holiday centerpiece, the square is now thought to be the most diverse public display of late fall holiday symbols in the country...

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The putting up of a nativity scene at Green Bay's City Hall has prompted a tongue-in-cheek request from a suburban man for permission to display a Festivus pole on the overhang of the building's northwest entrance.

This is a parody about retailers eliminating the word Christmas because someone might be offended. http://www.citizenlink.org/Stoplight/A000005834.cfm?eafref=1

A mere 1.6 percent of Americans observe it, and it's been criticized as separatist and contrived, but Kwanzaa may be the perfect holiday for all Americans to rally around. So "Habari Gani!" Today is the third day of Kwanzaa. If you just took a second glance at my picture and decided "she's playing," I assure you I am not. Maulana Karenga, the college professor who founded Kwanzaa 40 years ago to encourage black Americans to reconnect with their African heritage, says all are welcome at the table. And why not? Africa, scientists say, is the motherland of us all. Christmas...

Kwanzaa -- the holiday began in 1967 by Marxist Ron Karenga, who would later serve time for felony assault for viciously torturing two women, then become chairman of the black studies department at California State University, Long Beach -- is this week. Do you know anybody who celebrates it? Yes No. I think more people celebrate Festivus.

Pauline Foster's advice to her 11-year-old daughter, Nanyamka Graham, was simple: Shake it and smile. The two Lauderhill residents were part of the nearly 100 performers at the Kwanzaa celebration at Broward County's Main Library in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday night. Kwanzaa, an African-American holiday that celebrates family, community and culture, began Tuesday and ends Jan 1. Each day focuses on a different principle, and Tuesday's was unity. This year is the holiday's 40th anniversary. ''It's a family gathering,'' said 11-year-old performer Tameka Lewis, decked out in a bright pink costume. ``We learn about our black brothers and sisters and ancestors.''...