Column: The airing of grievances
For anyone who has seen the popular tv show “Seinfeld,” Festivus is a holiday easily recognized by an aluminum Festivus pole, an airing of grievances, feats of strength and the like.
Those who haven’t been witness to this holiday before are perhaps a bit confused as to what all of this entails. I was too until my family decided to start celebrating it.
Our version of Festivus differs slightly from the “Seinfeld” version, as we adapted it to fit our own lives, but many of the things stay the same.
For us, it’s an antithesis holiday amidst the swarm of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year celebrations. We don’t get ready for the day, we don’t do any sort of presents and we don’t even attempt to have a cheery attitude.
The “airing of grievances” takes place throughout the entirety of the day. It’s basically just whining and ranting about anything and everything that bothered you throughout the entire year. The idea is to get everything off your chest all in one day and then spend the rest of the year completely free of complaints and soapbox monologues. It sounds pretty good in concept, but it generally ends up with everyone just screaming “I have a grievance” at the top of their lungs and then voicing some petty complaint they thought up on the spot: “So-and-so didn’t set the table correctly!” “What’s-her-face is eating all of the potatoes!” and the like. There are also a few larger grievances shared in regards to familial issues or work problems, but those are definitely the minority.
Another large part of Festivus, or at least my family’s interpretation, is the public humiliation of any new member. Boyfriends, neighbors, family members, or friends attending for the first time are required to undergo the “Feats of Strength.” This simply means that you have to do some sort of physical challenge that we think up on the spot and all agree upon. For some, this has meant push-up challenges, for others arm wrestling. It is really just a spur of the moment decree that must be followed or else, heaven forbid, there will be even more grievances to air.
Festivus is held on the Sunday directly after Christmas. It’s accompanied by a large turkey dinner — much like Thanksgiving — and various card or board games —often inappropriate ones.
It is generally held at my house, and attended by my family, a family of our close friends and various friends and spouses. Altogether there are generally about twelve of us.
Festivus is a good holiday for my family because none of us are religious. I’m not really tied to the regular celebrations based on any religious affiliations and it’s kind of nice to have a holiday directly relatable to myself.
I definitely look forward to Festivus every year and my holiday celebrations wouldn’t be the same without it. It’s a nice chance to get everything off your chest before the new year begins and let go of everything you’ve been grudging about for months all wrapped up in a nice little package of yelling, fighting and just plain old catharsis.
— savannahnlund@aggiemail.usu.edu
@savannah_lund