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.
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