Post by Admin on Nov 27, 2015 20:41:17 GMT
[(......I wonder if this was another Apple/Disney Consumerism Lawsuit for familiarity of writing on the face of the DVD..........)]
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What Would Jesus Buy?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Would_Jesus_Buy%3F
What Would Jesus Buy? is a 2007 documentary film produced by Morgan Spurlock and directed by Rob VanAlkemade. The title is a take-off on the phrase "What would Jesus do?". The film debuted on the festival circuit on March 11, 2007, at the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. It went into general US release on November 16, 2007.
Plot
The film focuses on the issues of the commercialization of Christmas, materialism, the over-consumption in American culture, globalization, and the business practices of large corporations, as well as their economic and cultural effects on American society, as seen through the prism of activist/performance artist Bill Talen, who goes by the alias of "Reverend Billy", and his troupe of activists, whose street theater performances take the form of a church choir called "The Church of Stop Shopping," that sings anti-shopping and anti-corporate songs. The film follows Billy and his choir as they take a cross-country trip in the month prior to Christmas 2005, and spread their message against what they perceive as the evils of patronizing the retail outlets of several different large corporate chains.
Crew
The film was produced by Morgan Spurlock, with cinematography by Alan Deutsch, Daniel Marracino, Martin Palafox, Alex Stikich and Rob VanAlkemade. Jeremy Osbern was an additional cinematographer and Michael Moore, Dietmar Post, Jon Shenk, and Martin Taylor were camera operators. The film was edited by Gavin Coleman and Stela Georgieva.
Cast
Adetola Abiade ... Alto
Paul Allen ... Tenor
Paul Norman Allen ... Paul
Paul Norman Allen ... Tenor
Shannon Baxter ... Soprano
Rick Becker ... Trombone
James Solomon Benn ... Choir Director / Choreographer
Reverend Billy ... Reverend Billy
Ben Cerf ... Bass
Misun Choi ... Soprano
Ben Dubin-Thaler ... Bass
Savitri Durkee ... Church Director
Leah Farrell ... Tenor
Gina Figueroa ... Alto
Mike Flthye ... Drums
See also
Buy Nothing Christmas
Buy Nothing Day
Festivus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buy Nothing Christmas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Nothing_Christmas
Buy Nothing Christmas is an ongoing protest and reaction to the commercialization of the North American Christmas and holiday season. It started unofficially in 1968, when Ellie Clark and her family decided to publicly disregard the commercial aspects of the Christmas holiday. Contemporarily a movement was created to extend Adbusters' Buy Nothing Day into the entire Christmas season. Buy Nothing Christmas first became official in 2001 when a small group of Canadian Mennonites created a website and gave the movement a name.
See also:
Festivus
Gift economy
What Would Jesus Buy (2007 documentary)
References:
> www.buynothingchristmas.org/about/index.html
> Priesnitz, Wendy. "A Buy Nothing Christmas." Natural Life Magazine, November/December 2006. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Festivus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the December holiday. For other uses, see Festivus (disambiguation).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus
Festivus is both a parody and a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 that serves as an alternative to participating in the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season. It has been described as "the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering".
Originally a family tradition of scriptwriter Dan O'Keefe, who worked on the American sitcom Seinfeld, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 episode "The Strike". The holiday's celebration, as it was shown on Seinfeld, includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the "Airing of Grievances" and "Feats of Strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles".
The episode refers to it as "a Festivus for the rest of us", referencing its non-commercial aspect. It has also been described both as a "parody holiday festival" and as a form of playful consumer resistance.
History
Festivus was conceived by editor and author Daniel O'Keefe and was celebrated by his family as early as 1966. In the original O'Keefe tradition, the holiday would take place in response to family tension, "any time from December to May". The phrase, "a Festivus for the rest of us", also derived from an O'Keefe family event, the death of Daniel O'Keefe's mother.
In 1982, Daniel O'Keefe wrote a book, Stolen Lightning: The Social Theory of Magic, that deals with idiosyncratic ritual and its social significance, a theme relevant to Festivus tradition.
The word Festivus in this sense was coined by O'Keefe, and according to him the name "just popped into my head". The English word festive derives from Latin "festivus", which in turn derives from festus "joyous; holiday, feast day".
Although the first Festivus took place in February 1966, as a celebration of Daniel O'Keefe's first date with his future wife, Deborah, it is now celebrated on December 23, as depicted in a Seinfeld episode written by O'Keefe's son.
Seinfeld
Festivus was introduced in the Seinfeld episode "The Strike", written by Daniel O'Keefe's son Dan O'Keefe. The episode revolves around Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) returning to work at H&H Bagels. First, while at Monk's Restaurant, Jerry, George and Elaine discuss George's father's creation of Festivus. Then Kramer becomes interested in resurrecting the holiday when, at the bagel shop, Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller) tells him how he created Festivus as an alternative holiday in response to the commercialization of Christmas.
Frank Costanza's son, George (Jason Alexander), creates donation cards for a fake charity called The Human Fund (with the slogan "Money for People") in lieu of having to give office Christmas presents. When his boss, Mr. Kruger (Daniel von Bargen), questions George about a $20,000 check he gave George to donate to the Human Fund as a corporate donation, George hastily concocts the excuse that he made up the Human Fund because he feared persecution for his beliefs—for not celebrating Christmas, but celebrating Festivus. Attempting to call his bluff, Kruger goes home with George to see Festivus in action.
Kramer eventually goes back on strike from his bagel-vendor job when his manager tells him he cannot have time off for his new-found holiday. Kramer is then seen on the sidewalk picketing H&H Bagels, carrying a sign reading "Festivus yes! Bagels no!" and chanting to anyone passing the store: "Hey! No bagel, no bagel, no bagel..."
Finally, at Frank's house in Queens, Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George gather to celebrate Festivus. George brings Kruger to prove to him that Festivus is real.
Customary practices
The holiday, as portrayed in the Seinfeld episode, includes practices such as the "Airing of Grievances", which occurs during the Festivus meal and in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed them over the past year. After the meal, the "Feats of Strength" are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is actually pinned.
Festivus pole
In the episode, the tradition of Festivus begins with an aluminum pole. Frank Costanza cites its "very high strength-to-weight ratio" as appealing. During Festivus, the pole is displayed unadorned. According to Frank, "I find tinsel distracting."
Dan O'Keefe credits fellow Seinfeld writer Jeff Schaffer with introducing the concept. The aluminum pole was not part of the original O'Keefe family celebration, which centered around putting a clock in a bag and nailing it to a wall.
The Festivus pole used in the Seinfeld episode was an eight foot tall, 1.5 inch interior diameter, “Schedule 80” aluminum “speed rail” (scaffolding) that came from a storage location under the audience bleachers.
Festivus dinner
In "The Strike", a celebratory dinner is shown on the evening of Festivus prior to the Feats of Strength and during the Airing of Grievances. The on-air meal shows Estelle Costanza serving a sliced reddish colored meat-loaf shaped food on a bed of lettuce. In the episode no alcohol is served at the dinner, but George's boss, Mr. Kruger, drinks from a hip flask.
The original holiday dinner in the O'Keefe household featured turkey or ham followed by a Pepperidge Farm cake decorated with M&M's, as described in Dan O'Keefe's The Real Festivus.
Airing of Grievances
The celebration of Festivus begins with the "Airing of Grievances", which takes place immediately after the Festivus dinner has been served. It consists of each person lashing out at others and the world about how they have been disappointed in the past year.
Feats of Strength
The Feats of Strength are the final tradition observed in the celebration of Festivus, celebrated immediately following (or in the case of "The Strike", during) the Festivus dinner. The head of the household selects one person at the Festivus celebration and challenges them to a wrestling match. Tradition states Festivus is not over until the head of the household is pinned. In "The Strike", however, Kramer manages to circumvent the rule by creating an excuse to leave. The Feats of Strength are mentioned twice in the episode before they actually take place. In both instances, no detail was given as to what had actually happened, but in both instances, George Costanza ran out of the coffee shop in a mad panic, implying he had bad experiences with the Feats of Strength in the past. What the Feats of Strength entailed was revealed at the very end of the episode, when it actually took place. Failing to pin the head of the household results in Festivus continuing until such requirement is met.
Festivus miracles
Cosmo Kramer twice declares a "Festivus Miracle" during the Festivus celebration in the Costanza household. It is the character Kramer that actually causes the occurrence of two "miracles" by inviting two off-track betting bookies to dinner with Elaine (men whom Elaine wished to avoid), and by causing Jerry's girlfriend Gwen to believe that Jerry was cheating on her. Dan O'Keefe has said "Festivus Miracle" was something his own father used to say, which he actually recalled as writer David Mandel pitched it for the episode.
Wider adoption
Some people, most of them inspired by the Seinfeld episode, subsequently began to celebrate the holiday with varying degrees of seriousness. Allen Salkin's 2005 book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us chronicles the early adoption of Festivus. Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut's book A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to Be Jewish (Rutgers University Press, 2012) references Festivus, along with hybrid holidays such as Chrismukkah. Released in 2015, Festivus! The Book: A Complete Guide to the Holiday for the Rest of Us effectively demonstrates how the holiday continues to be celebrated by people worldwide.
In 2000, Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick would not allow his NFL football team's players to discuss the possibility of competing in that season's Super Bowl. Instead, he and the rest of the Ravens players and staff referred to the NFL playoffs as Festivus, and the Super Bowl as Festivus Maximus. In 2005, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle was declared "Governor Festivus" and during the holiday season displayed a Festivus Pole in the family room of the Executive Residence in Madison, Wisconsin. Governor Doyle's 2005 Festivus Pole is now part of the collection of the Wisconsin Historical Museum.
In 2010, a CNN story featuring Jerry Stiller detailed the increasing popularity of the holiday, including US Representative Eric Cantor's Festivus fundraiser, and the Christian Science Monitor reported that Festivus was a top trend on Twitter that year. In 2012, Google introduced a custom search result for the term "Festivus". In addition to the normal results an unadorned aluminum pole was displayed running down the side of the list of search results and "A Festivus Miracle!" prefixes the results count and speed.
In 2012, a Festivus Pole was erected on city property in Deerfield Beach, Florida, alongside religious themed holiday displays. A similar Festivus Pole was displayed next to religious displays in the Wisconsin State Capitol, along with a banner provided by the Freedom From Religion Foundation advocating for the separation of government and religion.
In 2013, a Festivus Pole constructed with 6 feet (1.8 m) of beer cans was erected next to a nativity scene and other religious holiday displays in the Florida State Capitol Building.
O'Keefe family practices
The O'Keefe family holiday featured other practices, as detailed in The Real Festivus (2005), a book by Daniel O'Keefe's son, Dan O'Keefe. Besides providing a first-person account of the early version of the Festivus holiday as celebrated by the O'Keefe family, the book relates how Dan O'Keefe amended or replaced details of his father's invention to create the Seinfeld episode.
Festivus Clock
In a 2013 CNN segment on the origins of Festivus, O'Keefe spoke about the real-life experiences related to the holiday. O'Keefe's father, who originated some of the now-recognized Festivus traditions, used a clock, not an aluminum pole. O'Keefe told CNN:
"The real symbol of the holiday was a clock that my dad put in a bag and nailed to the wall every year...I don't know why, I don't know what it means, he would never tell me. He would always say, 'That's not for you to know.'"
See also:
Buy Nothing Christmas
Buy Nothing Day
What Would Jesus Buy?, a 2007 documentary
References:
> Salkin, Allen (2004-12-19). "Fooey to the World: Festivus Is Come". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
> "Festivus for the rest of us". LJWorld. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
> "The Strike". Seinfeld Scripts. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
> Mikkonen, Ilona; Bajde, Domen (10 April 2012). "Happy Festivus! Parody as playful consumer resistance". Consumption Markets & Culture 16 (4): 1–27. doi:10.1080/10253866.2012.662832.
> Allen Salkin (2005). Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of us. ISBN 0-446-69674-9.
> O'Keefe, Daniel (1982). Stolen Lightning: A Social Theory of Magic. ISBN 0-8264-0059-0.
> "festus". Words. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
> "Our day, our way". Journal Sentinel Online. Archived from the original on 2006-12-17. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
> "Dictionary Entry: Fest-/Festivus", Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid, University of Notre Dame
> Ravitz, Jessica. "Seinfeld' over, but Festivus keeps giving". CNN.com. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
> "The Origins of Festivus |". cnn.com. 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
> Mark Nelson (2015). Festivus! The Book. ISBN 1511556390.
> "Festivus Dinner". Festivusweb.com. 1997-12-18. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
> O'Keefe, Dan. The Real Festivus. Perigee, 2005.
> "Happy Festivus | A Festivus for the Rest of Us! | Festivus Feats of Strength, Festivus Airing of Grievances, Festivus Pole". Festivusweb.com. 1997-12-18. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
> "Festivus Miracle | Festivusweb.com | Seinfeld Festivus". Festivusweb.com. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
> Mark Nelson (2015). Festivus! The Book. ISBN 1511556390.
> "Gov. Festivus!". madison.com. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
> "Governor Doyle's Festivus Pole". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
> "Festivus for the rest of Us! Jerry Stiller on Fake holiday's real popularity". CNN. December 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
> "Festivus becomes worldwide holiday. Break out the Festivus pole!". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
> Cuts, Matt, (10 December 2012) It's a Festivus miracle when you go to Google and search…, Google+, retrieved 23 December 2013
> "Festivus: The Google Easter egg for the rest of us". National Post. December 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
> Funcheon, Deirdra (2013-12-06). ""Festivus Pole" Made of Beer Cans Approved; Will Go Up in Florida Capitol Next to Jesus' Manger. Deirdra Funcheon. Broward Palm Beach New Times.". Blogs.browardpalmbeach.com. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
^ Jump up to: a b Farrington, Brendan (2013-12-11). "Festivus For The Rest Of Us! Florida Atheist Successfully Puts Up Beer Can Pole Display". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
> Dan O'Keefe at the Internet Movie Database
> "Origins of Festivus". Retrieved 2015-08-19.
> "The Origins of Festivus |". cnn.com. 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
External links:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Festivus.
Look up Festivus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Festivusweb.com - Festivus quotes and the script from "The Strike"
Origins of Festivus
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What Would Jesus Buy?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Would_Jesus_Buy%3F
What Would Jesus Buy? is a 2007 documentary film produced by Morgan Spurlock and directed by Rob VanAlkemade. The title is a take-off on the phrase "What would Jesus do?". The film debuted on the festival circuit on March 11, 2007, at the South By Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. It went into general US release on November 16, 2007.
Plot
The film focuses on the issues of the commercialization of Christmas, materialism, the over-consumption in American culture, globalization, and the business practices of large corporations, as well as their economic and cultural effects on American society, as seen through the prism of activist/performance artist Bill Talen, who goes by the alias of "Reverend Billy", and his troupe of activists, whose street theater performances take the form of a church choir called "The Church of Stop Shopping," that sings anti-shopping and anti-corporate songs. The film follows Billy and his choir as they take a cross-country trip in the month prior to Christmas 2005, and spread their message against what they perceive as the evils of patronizing the retail outlets of several different large corporate chains.
Crew
The film was produced by Morgan Spurlock, with cinematography by Alan Deutsch, Daniel Marracino, Martin Palafox, Alex Stikich and Rob VanAlkemade. Jeremy Osbern was an additional cinematographer and Michael Moore, Dietmar Post, Jon Shenk, and Martin Taylor were camera operators. The film was edited by Gavin Coleman and Stela Georgieva.
Cast
Adetola Abiade ... Alto
Paul Allen ... Tenor
Paul Norman Allen ... Paul
Paul Norman Allen ... Tenor
Shannon Baxter ... Soprano
Rick Becker ... Trombone
James Solomon Benn ... Choir Director / Choreographer
Reverend Billy ... Reverend Billy
Ben Cerf ... Bass
Misun Choi ... Soprano
Ben Dubin-Thaler ... Bass
Savitri Durkee ... Church Director
Leah Farrell ... Tenor
Gina Figueroa ... Alto
Mike Flthye ... Drums
See also
Buy Nothing Christmas
Buy Nothing Day
Festivus
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buy Nothing Christmas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buy_Nothing_Christmas
Buy Nothing Christmas is an ongoing protest and reaction to the commercialization of the North American Christmas and holiday season. It started unofficially in 1968, when Ellie Clark and her family decided to publicly disregard the commercial aspects of the Christmas holiday. Contemporarily a movement was created to extend Adbusters' Buy Nothing Day into the entire Christmas season. Buy Nothing Christmas first became official in 2001 when a small group of Canadian Mennonites created a website and gave the movement a name.
See also:
Festivus
Gift economy
What Would Jesus Buy (2007 documentary)
References:
> www.buynothingchristmas.org/about/index.html
> Priesnitz, Wendy. "A Buy Nothing Christmas." Natural Life Magazine, November/December 2006. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Festivus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the December holiday. For other uses, see Festivus (disambiguation).
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus
Festivus is both a parody and a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 that serves as an alternative to participating in the pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season. It has been described as "the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering".
Originally a family tradition of scriptwriter Dan O'Keefe, who worked on the American sitcom Seinfeld, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 episode "The Strike". The holiday's celebration, as it was shown on Seinfeld, includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the "Airing of Grievances" and "Feats of Strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles".
The episode refers to it as "a Festivus for the rest of us", referencing its non-commercial aspect. It has also been described both as a "parody holiday festival" and as a form of playful consumer resistance.
History
Festivus was conceived by editor and author Daniel O'Keefe and was celebrated by his family as early as 1966. In the original O'Keefe tradition, the holiday would take place in response to family tension, "any time from December to May". The phrase, "a Festivus for the rest of us", also derived from an O'Keefe family event, the death of Daniel O'Keefe's mother.
In 1982, Daniel O'Keefe wrote a book, Stolen Lightning: The Social Theory of Magic, that deals with idiosyncratic ritual and its social significance, a theme relevant to Festivus tradition.
The word Festivus in this sense was coined by O'Keefe, and according to him the name "just popped into my head". The English word festive derives from Latin "festivus", which in turn derives from festus "joyous; holiday, feast day".
Although the first Festivus took place in February 1966, as a celebration of Daniel O'Keefe's first date with his future wife, Deborah, it is now celebrated on December 23, as depicted in a Seinfeld episode written by O'Keefe's son.
Seinfeld
Festivus was introduced in the Seinfeld episode "The Strike", written by Daniel O'Keefe's son Dan O'Keefe. The episode revolves around Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards) returning to work at H&H Bagels. First, while at Monk's Restaurant, Jerry, George and Elaine discuss George's father's creation of Festivus. Then Kramer becomes interested in resurrecting the holiday when, at the bagel shop, Frank Costanza (Jerry Stiller) tells him how he created Festivus as an alternative holiday in response to the commercialization of Christmas.
Frank Costanza's son, George (Jason Alexander), creates donation cards for a fake charity called The Human Fund (with the slogan "Money for People") in lieu of having to give office Christmas presents. When his boss, Mr. Kruger (Daniel von Bargen), questions George about a $20,000 check he gave George to donate to the Human Fund as a corporate donation, George hastily concocts the excuse that he made up the Human Fund because he feared persecution for his beliefs—for not celebrating Christmas, but celebrating Festivus. Attempting to call his bluff, Kruger goes home with George to see Festivus in action.
Kramer eventually goes back on strike from his bagel-vendor job when his manager tells him he cannot have time off for his new-found holiday. Kramer is then seen on the sidewalk picketing H&H Bagels, carrying a sign reading "Festivus yes! Bagels no!" and chanting to anyone passing the store: "Hey! No bagel, no bagel, no bagel..."
Finally, at Frank's house in Queens, Jerry, Elaine, Kramer and George gather to celebrate Festivus. George brings Kruger to prove to him that Festivus is real.
Customary practices
The holiday, as portrayed in the Seinfeld episode, includes practices such as the "Airing of Grievances", which occurs during the Festivus meal and in which each person tells everyone else all the ways they have disappointed them over the past year. After the meal, the "Feats of Strength" are performed, involving wrestling the head of the household to the floor, with the holiday ending only if the head of the household is actually pinned.
Festivus pole
In the episode, the tradition of Festivus begins with an aluminum pole. Frank Costanza cites its "very high strength-to-weight ratio" as appealing. During Festivus, the pole is displayed unadorned. According to Frank, "I find tinsel distracting."
Dan O'Keefe credits fellow Seinfeld writer Jeff Schaffer with introducing the concept. The aluminum pole was not part of the original O'Keefe family celebration, which centered around putting a clock in a bag and nailing it to a wall.
The Festivus pole used in the Seinfeld episode was an eight foot tall, 1.5 inch interior diameter, “Schedule 80” aluminum “speed rail” (scaffolding) that came from a storage location under the audience bleachers.
Festivus dinner
In "The Strike", a celebratory dinner is shown on the evening of Festivus prior to the Feats of Strength and during the Airing of Grievances. The on-air meal shows Estelle Costanza serving a sliced reddish colored meat-loaf shaped food on a bed of lettuce. In the episode no alcohol is served at the dinner, but George's boss, Mr. Kruger, drinks from a hip flask.
The original holiday dinner in the O'Keefe household featured turkey or ham followed by a Pepperidge Farm cake decorated with M&M's, as described in Dan O'Keefe's The Real Festivus.
Airing of Grievances
The celebration of Festivus begins with the "Airing of Grievances", which takes place immediately after the Festivus dinner has been served. It consists of each person lashing out at others and the world about how they have been disappointed in the past year.
Feats of Strength
The Feats of Strength are the final tradition observed in the celebration of Festivus, celebrated immediately following (or in the case of "The Strike", during) the Festivus dinner. The head of the household selects one person at the Festivus celebration and challenges them to a wrestling match. Tradition states Festivus is not over until the head of the household is pinned. In "The Strike", however, Kramer manages to circumvent the rule by creating an excuse to leave. The Feats of Strength are mentioned twice in the episode before they actually take place. In both instances, no detail was given as to what had actually happened, but in both instances, George Costanza ran out of the coffee shop in a mad panic, implying he had bad experiences with the Feats of Strength in the past. What the Feats of Strength entailed was revealed at the very end of the episode, when it actually took place. Failing to pin the head of the household results in Festivus continuing until such requirement is met.
Festivus miracles
Cosmo Kramer twice declares a "Festivus Miracle" during the Festivus celebration in the Costanza household. It is the character Kramer that actually causes the occurrence of two "miracles" by inviting two off-track betting bookies to dinner with Elaine (men whom Elaine wished to avoid), and by causing Jerry's girlfriend Gwen to believe that Jerry was cheating on her. Dan O'Keefe has said "Festivus Miracle" was something his own father used to say, which he actually recalled as writer David Mandel pitched it for the episode.
Wider adoption
Some people, most of them inspired by the Seinfeld episode, subsequently began to celebrate the holiday with varying degrees of seriousness. Allen Salkin's 2005 book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us chronicles the early adoption of Festivus. Rabbi Joshua Eli Plaut's book A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to Be Jewish (Rutgers University Press, 2012) references Festivus, along with hybrid holidays such as Chrismukkah. Released in 2015, Festivus! The Book: A Complete Guide to the Holiday for the Rest of Us effectively demonstrates how the holiday continues to be celebrated by people worldwide.
In 2000, Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick would not allow his NFL football team's players to discuss the possibility of competing in that season's Super Bowl. Instead, he and the rest of the Ravens players and staff referred to the NFL playoffs as Festivus, and the Super Bowl as Festivus Maximus. In 2005, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle was declared "Governor Festivus" and during the holiday season displayed a Festivus Pole in the family room of the Executive Residence in Madison, Wisconsin. Governor Doyle's 2005 Festivus Pole is now part of the collection of the Wisconsin Historical Museum.
In 2010, a CNN story featuring Jerry Stiller detailed the increasing popularity of the holiday, including US Representative Eric Cantor's Festivus fundraiser, and the Christian Science Monitor reported that Festivus was a top trend on Twitter that year. In 2012, Google introduced a custom search result for the term "Festivus". In addition to the normal results an unadorned aluminum pole was displayed running down the side of the list of search results and "A Festivus Miracle!" prefixes the results count and speed.
In 2012, a Festivus Pole was erected on city property in Deerfield Beach, Florida, alongside religious themed holiday displays. A similar Festivus Pole was displayed next to religious displays in the Wisconsin State Capitol, along with a banner provided by the Freedom From Religion Foundation advocating for the separation of government and religion.
In 2013, a Festivus Pole constructed with 6 feet (1.8 m) of beer cans was erected next to a nativity scene and other religious holiday displays in the Florida State Capitol Building.
O'Keefe family practices
The O'Keefe family holiday featured other practices, as detailed in The Real Festivus (2005), a book by Daniel O'Keefe's son, Dan O'Keefe. Besides providing a first-person account of the early version of the Festivus holiday as celebrated by the O'Keefe family, the book relates how Dan O'Keefe amended or replaced details of his father's invention to create the Seinfeld episode.
Festivus Clock
In a 2013 CNN segment on the origins of Festivus, O'Keefe spoke about the real-life experiences related to the holiday. O'Keefe's father, who originated some of the now-recognized Festivus traditions, used a clock, not an aluminum pole. O'Keefe told CNN:
"The real symbol of the holiday was a clock that my dad put in a bag and nailed to the wall every year...I don't know why, I don't know what it means, he would never tell me. He would always say, 'That's not for you to know.'"
See also:
Buy Nothing Christmas
Buy Nothing Day
What Would Jesus Buy?, a 2007 documentary
References:
> Salkin, Allen (2004-12-19). "Fooey to the World: Festivus Is Come". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-09.
> "Festivus for the rest of us". LJWorld. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
> "The Strike". Seinfeld Scripts. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
> Mikkonen, Ilona; Bajde, Domen (10 April 2012). "Happy Festivus! Parody as playful consumer resistance". Consumption Markets & Culture 16 (4): 1–27. doi:10.1080/10253866.2012.662832.
> Allen Salkin (2005). Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of us. ISBN 0-446-69674-9.
> O'Keefe, Daniel (1982). Stolen Lightning: A Social Theory of Magic. ISBN 0-8264-0059-0.
> "festus". Words. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
> "Our day, our way". Journal Sentinel Online. Archived from the original on 2006-12-17. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
> "Dictionary Entry: Fest-/Festivus", Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid, University of Notre Dame
> Ravitz, Jessica. "Seinfeld' over, but Festivus keeps giving". CNN.com. Retrieved 2010-04-09.
> "The Origins of Festivus |". cnn.com. 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
> Mark Nelson (2015). Festivus! The Book. ISBN 1511556390.
> "Festivus Dinner". Festivusweb.com. 1997-12-18. Retrieved 2015-08-19.
> O'Keefe, Dan. The Real Festivus. Perigee, 2005.
> "Happy Festivus | A Festivus for the Rest of Us! | Festivus Feats of Strength, Festivus Airing of Grievances, Festivus Pole". Festivusweb.com. 1997-12-18. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
> "Festivus Miracle | Festivusweb.com | Seinfeld Festivus". Festivusweb.com. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
> Mark Nelson (2015). Festivus! The Book. ISBN 1511556390.
> "Gov. Festivus!". madison.com. Retrieved 2006-12-25.
> "Governor Doyle's Festivus Pole". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
> "Festivus for the rest of Us! Jerry Stiller on Fake holiday's real popularity". CNN. December 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
> "Festivus becomes worldwide holiday. Break out the Festivus pole!". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2010-12-23.
> Cuts, Matt, (10 December 2012) It's a Festivus miracle when you go to Google and search…, Google+, retrieved 23 December 2013
> "Festivus: The Google Easter egg for the rest of us". National Post. December 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
> Funcheon, Deirdra (2013-12-06). ""Festivus Pole" Made of Beer Cans Approved; Will Go Up in Florida Capitol Next to Jesus' Manger. Deirdra Funcheon. Broward Palm Beach New Times.". Blogs.browardpalmbeach.com. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
^ Jump up to: a b Farrington, Brendan (2013-12-11). "Festivus For The Rest Of Us! Florida Atheist Successfully Puts Up Beer Can Pole Display". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
> Dan O'Keefe at the Internet Movie Database
> "Origins of Festivus". Retrieved 2015-08-19.
> "The Origins of Festivus |". cnn.com. 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-12-24.
External links:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Festivus.
Look up Festivus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Festivusweb.com - Festivus quotes and the script from "The Strike"
Origins of Festivus