Festivus vs. Decorated Trees #ThursdayTreeLove

Today is Festivus.

Festivus may be the only holiday created by a TV show, a Seinfeld episode from 1997 called "The Strike".  I don't formally celebrate it, although I used to know a couple of people who do. But this year, for some reason, it doesn't appeal to me.

Festivus is a secular holiday for the "rest of us". Turns out it was based on a "holiday" celebration celebrated by the family of one of Seinfeld's writers, Dan O'Keefe.   It's something that people needing an alternative to Christmas can turn to.   Christmas, for me, has not been the happiest of occasions for a lot of years.  But even years ago, I never bought into the pressure many people put themselves under, and I certainly don't want to start now. 

For those not familiar with Festivus:  Festivus is celebrated every December 23.  As outlined in the Seinfeld episode, it has several rituals.

First is the Festivus pole, always made of aluminum.  It is undecorated, as opposed to a Christmas tree.  But strong.  It should have a "high strength to length ratio".  No tinsel is allowed.

When spouse and I went to the Roberson Museum and Science Center's Home for the Holidays display, there were no Festivus trees.  Not surprising, as no one is interested in an aluminum pole.

Next comes the Festivus dinner.  At the beginning of the dinner is the Airing of Grievances.  "I've got a lot of problems with you people, and now you're going to hear about it!" is how it begins.

Each participant then tells each family member and friend how that person disappointed him/her.  However, if you extended this to other aspects of life...well, again it may just be pandemic burnout, but I could really dump on some aspects of my daily life. The airing of grievances is a welcome change from the constant "be grateful for your life!" refrain you hear every day.  Things wrap up, after a dinner of meatloaf and peas, with "Feats of Strength" where the host of the dinner is pinned to the ground.

But this is where I part company with Festivus.  Maybe in some years we need an airing of grievances and a wrestling match. This year, though, is special.  We need to be kind to one another, because too many of us seem to have abandoned all attempts at civility.

This year, too, we need our decorated trees.  Although these trees (I am assuming) are artificial, I'd like to post them for Parul at Happiness and Food and her Thursday Tree Love.  

These, like others I have posted recently, can be found at Home for the Holidays at the Roberson Museum and Science Center in Binghamton, New York.

So many of our trees at this time of year, where I live in the Southern Tier of New York State, are bare.  So many days are cloudy.  It's snowing today.

Trees decorated by nature are just as pretty, are they not?  Here are a couple of pictures from this morning.

A little hard to see but there are several trees here.  The bare one in front with the red "berries" is a native cherry tree.  There's a mix of evergreen and bare in back.

The trees patiently endure our winter and come back from their sleep in the spring, ready to give us another year of pleasure.  If only we had their patience!

Perhaps we will wake up, one day, and find that the pandemic and the breakdown of so much we hold dear was just a bad dream.  I doubt it, though.

Festivus is for the rest of us.  But maybe not this year.  Instead, let's love and give thanks for our trees.

Joining #ThursdayTreeLove, hosted by Parul at Happiness and Food every second and fourth Thursday.

Local Saturday - Festivus For the Rest of Us

As someone who majored in cultural anthropology, I am fascinated by holidays and their origins.

Festivus may be the only holiday created by a TV show, a Seinfeld episode from 1997 called "The Strike".  I don't formally celebrate it, although I do know a couple of people who do. But this year, for some reason, it is appealing to me.

Festivus is a holiday for the "rest of us", the people burnt out by the total overchristmasization (is that a word?) of today's United States. 

For those not familiar with Festivus:

Festivus is celebrated every December 23 and has several aspects. 

First is the Festivus pole, always made of aluminum.  It is undecorated, as opposed to a Christmas tree.  But strong.  It should have a "high strength to length ratio".  No tinsel is allowed.

Then is the Festivus dinner.  At the beginning of the dinner is the Airing of Grievances.  "I've got a lot of problems with you people, and now you're going to hear about it!" is how it begins.

Each participant then tells each family member and friend how that person disappointed him/her.  However, if you extended this to other aspects of life...well, again it may just be my sour mood but I could really dump on some aspects of my daily life. The airing of grievances is a welcome change from the constant "be grateful for your life!" refrain you hear every day.

I could recite a long list but it's become obvious our society is becoming more and more mean spirited each year.  The haters gain power.  We are trying to tear ourselves apart.  We have become selfish, self-absorbed and a few other things.  We follow every detail of the Hollywood Stars lives, and musicians who don't even deserve the name, but we ignore those in our back yards who need friends more than ever.  We have lost our will to fix our problems.  (Some would argue that we are also fighting back, but this is the Airing of Grievances.)


Then is the Festivus dinner - meat loaf on a bed of lettuce, with peas.  If you drink alcohol, you must do it from a flask.

Which brings us to the last event, the Feats of Strength.  After the head of the family is pinned to the ground in a match of strength, dinner is over.

Perhaps we will wake up, one day, and find that our health care is a model for the world, that our infrastructure has been repaired, and we are once again a country not trying to tear ourselves apart.

Just think.  It would be a true Festivus miracle.

Festivus

Festivus may be the only holiday created by a TV show. To be exact, a Seinfeld episode from 1997.  I don't formally celebrate it, although I do know a couple of people who do.  If I had to be totally honest (and you are supposed to be) I didn't even watch Seinfeld that much.  But I should.  Honest.

Festivus is a holiday for the "rest of us", the people burnt out by the total Overchristmasization of today's United States.  And, I can identify with that more and more each year.  Maybe next year I will be celebrating it.  Somehow, this year I feel so tired, so......and yet I have so much to be grateful for, such as still being employed.

For those not familiar with Festivus:

Festivus is celebrated every December 23 and has several aspects. 

First is the Festivus pole, always made of aluminum.  It is undecorated, as opposed to a Christmas Tree.  But strong.

Then is the Festivus dinner.  At the beginning of the dinner is the Airing of Grievances. Each participant tells each family member and friend how that person disappointed him/her.  However, if you extended this to other aspects of life...well, again it may just be my sour mood but I could really dump on some aspects of my daily life.  But not family.  To paraphrase, "I've got a lot of problems with certain things, and you are going to hear about it!"

I could recite a long list but basically I think our society is becoming more and more mean spirited each year.  And selfish, self-absorbed and a few other things.  We follow every detail of the Hollywood Stars lives, and musicians who don't even deserve the name, but we ignore those in our back yards who need friends more than ever.  Our news channels have turned into entertainment news.  We have lost our will to excel.

I saw a segment on CNN recently that dealt with-how much to tip your doorman!!   That's news?  That's relevant to most people in this country?  What about unemployment, lack of medical insurance, the burgeoning national debt, our borrowing and selling ourselves to China, and boring stuff like that?

History does repeat itself, friends.

Which brings us to the last event, the Feats of Strength.  After the head of the family is pinned to the ground in a match of strength, dinner is over.

Happy Festivus, I guess.  Hopefully I will cheer up once the sun decides to reappear, sometime next year.