From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Tired of materialistic holidays? 'Celebrate Festivus
By KAY MILLER
MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE
Festivus may be the first holiday spawned by TV. Credit "Seinfeld"
character Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller), who in the Dec. 18, 1997
episode introduced "A Festivus for the rest of us!" as an alternative to
the distorting materialism of Christmas.
As evidence, he recounted when he wrestled another department store
customer to the ground over a Christmas doll, destroying it in the
fracas.
For all of its knife-edged satire, Festivus -- officially observed Dec.
23, but also celebrated throughout the month -- struck a nerve that is
still jangling eight years later. People named their cats, beer, ice
cream, workout routines, even playoff seasons Festivus. One Festivus cat
gave birth to a kitten named Microfestivus.
Most of all, people created their own Festivus parties, a serious case
of life imitating art. With "Seinfeld" reruns in a near-continuous loop,
new adherents are baptized every year.
The article continues at
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/252243_festivus.html