Seinfeld’s Festivus: The Alternative Holiday For Christmas Haters

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As a huge fan of television, I remember exactly where I was when Seinfeld aired ‘The Strike’ on December 18, 1997. Before that episode, if you weren’t a Christmas person, you basically had to suffer through the season quietly while everyone else had fun. But Seinfeld finally gave a voice to those of us who felt a little…grinchy, and it was glorious. It felt like they were saying, ‘Hey, it’s okay to not love the holidays!’

The Seinfeld episode featuring Festivus is widely considered the show’s best Christmas installment. It introduced Festivus as a non-religious alternative to Christmas, created to push back against the holiday’s increasing focus on shopping and over-the-top celebrations. Festivus has since become surprisingly popular, with people around the world now celebrating it.

It’s not surprising that Frank Costanza, known for being a bit of a Scrooge, created his own alternative to Christmas. Interestingly, the holiday he invented, Festivus, actually came from a real family tradition – the family of one of the writers on the show Seinfeld.

Seinfeld Popularized Festivus As A Secular Alternative To Christmas

We owe the popularity of Festivus to the TV show Seinfeld. Similar to how some people enjoy alternative Christmas movies when they’re tired of traditional holiday cheer, Seinfeld gave those who dislike Christmas a holiday to call their own.

Okay, so in the final holiday episode of season nine, ‘The Strike,’ we learn something amazing about George’s dad, Frank. Apparently, when George was a kid, Frank actually created his own holiday to replace Christmas! The story unfolds through a hilarious reveal to Jerry and Kramer. It turns out Frank had a total meltdown while arguing with another dad over a toy for young George and just decided Christmas was cancelled – and this new holiday was born! It’s a wonderfully quirky backstory that really sheds light on why Frank is, well, Frank.

After that, the Costanzas began celebrating Festivus, a holiday created by Frank with some unusual traditions. Many fans of the show Seinfeld have since adopted these traditions themselves. These include a plain aluminum pole instead of a Christmas tree, competitive “feats of strength” where a family member challenges the head of the household, and, most famously, a time to openly share complaints – the ‘airing of grievances’.

Festivus Is Celebrated Annually On December 23

Every year, as Christmas gets closer, many people celebrate Festivus on December 23rd. This date comes from a famous episode of the TV show Seinfeld, where George’s father established it as the holiday’s official day.

While most people look forward to Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, those who celebrate Festivus have their main celebration much earlier. Similar to George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer, Festivus celebrants prioritize their festivities two days before Christmas.

The Father Of A Seinfeld Writer Invented Festivus

Believe it or not, the Festivus holiday from the TV show Seinfeld is based on a real family tradition! Dan O’Keefe, one of the writers of the episode “The Strike,” created Festivus after his own father, a famous editor for Reader’s Digest also named Dan O’Keefe, celebrated a similar holiday.

As early as the 1960s, Daniel O’Keefe Sr. began celebrating Festivus with his family. He’d play a mix of mid-century European pop and Irish rebel songs to create a festive mood, and instead of a Christmas tree, he’d hang a simple alarm clock in a bag. He also came up with the now-famous phrase, “A Festivus for the rest of us!”

On his podcast, Really No Really, Jason Alexander (who played George Costanza) spoke with Dan O’Keefe, the son of the real-life inspiration for Frank Costanza. O’Keefe described his father as even wilder than the character and said that Festivus celebrations involved a lot of drinking. He also confirmed that the tradition of reviewing old Festivus tapes, as seen in the show, was based on how his family actually celebrated the holiday.

The first Festivus tradition was basically just listening to my dad complain. He’d play recordings of himself complaining from the previous year, and we had to sit through it all over again.

If you celebrate Festivus, be sure to record your yearly airing of grievances while also listening to recordings from previous years. This practice pays tribute to both Daniel O’Keefe, who inspired the holiday, and the TV show Seinfeld, and helps you avoid the excessive commercialism often associated with Christmas.

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2025-12-23 14:59