Friendship Chain

 

Between Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve, December has more than its share of holidays. But, if you feel it needs one more, you can always celebrate Festivus. Until last week, I only knew two things about Festivus: it originated with the TV series Seinfeld, and the phrase “for the rest of us” means for people who don’t celebrate the holidays I just mentioned. Both are wrong. Festivus did appear in an episode of Seinfeld in 1997, but TV writer Dan O’Keefe’s family had been observing it since 1966. The phrase “for the rest of us” meant for those still living. Festivus is celebrated December 23, the anniversary of the day Dan O’Keefe’s mom and dad first dated. I’m not sure which aspects of the holiday – the aluminum pole, the airing of grievances, the feats of strength, or calling ordinary events “Festivus miracles” – originated with the TV show, and which were part of the O’Keefe family tradition.