Festivus is an annual holiday celebrated around Christmas invented by some guy named Dan O'Keefe. It probably would not have been as famous as it is if it weren't for his son Daniel, who happened to be a writer for Seinfeld. Daniel wrote Festivus into an episode of Seinfeld and the rest is history.
Every holiday has its schtick, and Festivus is no different. Rather than a Christmas tree, Festivus celebrators honor the aluminum Festivus Pole. Festivus includes novel practices such as the Airing of Grievances, where each person tells everyone else all of the ways they have disappointed him or her over the last year. After the Festivus meal, the Feats of Strength are performed, involving wrestling the head of household to the floor. Traditionally, Festivus does not end until the host has been pinned.
So why, in a website dedicated to lugging wooden Rob Lowe around the country, am I yammering on and on about some half-fake holiday? This past holiday season, inspired by an afternoon of beers at the Old Bay, Steve and I decided that we should host a Festivus party. We really do have the perfect setup for such a party. The stripper pole in our living room is easily converted into a Festivus pole. The fireplace gives a perfect opportunity for not just the Airing of Grievances, but our new twist on the tradition -- the Burning of Grievances. None of the literature I found on Festivus indicated what the traditional Festivus meal entailed, but I just had a hunch that it should include something made in a crock pot. Armed with the pole, the fireplace, and the crock pot, we slapped together a guest list and gave our guests about a week's notice for our Festivus Party. (The party was actually on December 15; my blogging is seriously behind. Oops.)
The Festivus party was a success. Rob's favorite part was by far the Burning of Grievances. Rather than bring the party down by telling everyone how they let us down throughout the year, we decided to go in a different direction and simply write down and burn things that bothered us. One guest even went so far as to solicit grievances from her co-workers, and showed up at Festivus with a stack ready to be read aloud and burned. The Burning of Grievances will be included in all future Festivus celebrations for sure.
Enjoy the Festivus pictures, and sorry for the delay in posting them!
The Festivus Pole, decorated with ribbon and balloons.
Radha and Rob
Jodi, Jenn, and Rob
Keith, Jen, and Rob
Kelly burns her grievances, along with a healthy pile o' grievances from her colleagues.
Steve prepares to burn his grievances.
Jodi gets ready to toss her grievance away.
Oh Jenn, kiss your grievance goodybye. On a sad note, my Ridiculous Green Getup was also burned that night. For those not in the know about the Ridiculous Green Getup, it was my "fancy outfit" that I had in reserve from back in the day when I worked for the ad agency (I will not include the colorful nicknames we all have for this place, as this is the internet and she might find this site one day). Whenever a client came in, or whenever I went on a client meeting, I had to dress up. Since I hate dressing up, I purchased this one outfit and cringed every time I had to wear it. I dubbed it my Ridiculous Green Getup. I have not had the need nor the urge to wear it since I resigned my position there and became a teacher. The Burning of Grievances offered me the perfect opportunity to let it burn, baby, burn! Bye bye, Ridiculous Green Getup!
