Happy Festivus!

It's December 23rd! The holiday called Festivus! 

(Festivus -- For the Rest of Us.)

Festivus is the holiday during the holiday season that does away with all the greed and commercialism of the holidays -- and it is one that I celebrate wholeheartedly. 

I've never liked putting up Christmas decorations (and never have) so when I found out that, instead of a tree, a simple aluminum pole is erected for Festivus, I jumped on board and ordered one years ago.

Here it is, gleaming in the soft glow of artificial lighting:

I put it up right after Thanksgiving and it remains there through the holidays.

Now, one would think that there would be special Festivus carols or a Festivus feast to prepare, but no. That would go completely against the spirit of this special holiday. I do have off from work today, though, and am simply eating leftovers and watching reruns on TV.

Here is a great clip from Seinfeld -- the TV series that gave birth to Festivus.

Happy Festivus, everyone!

Festivus Through the Years

Today, December 23, is Festivus!
CNN is even covering this auspicious holiday.

Here are pics of my Festivus Pole through the years.
Oh, what warm and happy memories these photos convey.

Festivus

I have never owned any holiday decorations or put up a Christmas tree.

Not once. Ever.

As I’ve mentioned before, I just don’t “get” physical surroundings, decorations, or objects in general.

I’m oblivious to “things.”

I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs personality profile a half dozen times in the past. Every time, the evaluator remarks that I have all 20 points in the “Intuitive” category and absolutely Zero points in the “Sensing” category.

The “Intuitive” category lists an attribute as, “comfortable with ambiguous, fuzzy data and with guessing its meaning.”

Neat!

The “Sensing” category lists someone who “likes clear and concrete information; dislikes guessing when facts are ‘fuzzy’".

When my co-worker dislikes my fuzzy facts, I want to shoot him with an Animal Kingdom tranquilizing dart.

So, I don’t like “things” around me.

I seem to have the opposite obsession to "hoarding." I get an endorphine 'high' when I'm able to get rid of things. For example, every morning, I really do try to take something from inside my apartment and get rid of it down the trash chute. The day just doesn't seem to be "valid" otherwise.

Anywhoo . . . .

Do you remember the Festivus holiday from Seinfeld?

“Festivus” was the holiday for those who do not want to celebrate Christmas (or any holiday) and all its commercial trappings.

“Festivus for the Rest of Us!" was the slogan.

When I learned that Festivus was celebrated by erecting a single, six-foot, galvanized steel pole, I said, “That’s for me!!!”

Three years ago, I bought an authentic Festivus Pole. I put it up every year and I love it. It's simple and takes 30 seconds to put up and take down. Holiday decorations take up a tiny, wittle-bitty portion of my dwelling space.

As it should be.

Every holiday season, I admire the flicker of my HD television and my PC screen reflecting on my Festivus Pole. When I see that, I know that Christmas is right around the corner.

Here is my Festivus Pole, silhouetted against the winter sky fifty stories above downtown Chicago.

Now doesn’t that impart the warm feeling of the infant Jesus and the importance of Christ’s birth to all the world?

It does to me.

Okay, the other tradition of Festivus is to display the “Feats of Strength.”

As I erected my Festivus Pole yesterday, my friends and I all demonstrated our respective Feats of Strength.

For example, Diane can annihilate Iwanski in a very weird sort of body-wrestling. We tried to get it on video but never succeeded. It was sort of like trying to capture Bigfoot on film.

As far as my Feat of Strength, I have the strange ability of being able to turn my feet backward 45 degrees behind me. I had forgotten about that until the Festivus Season prompted me to do so. Everyone went “Eeewww”!

But Iwanski did get it on film. Sigh - - - we all have our gifts. .

Happy Festivus, Everyone.

It's Festivus Season

A few years ago, I gave a Festivus Pole to my friends, Jack and Steve and Portia, as we are big fans of Seinfeld.

Well, they don't celebrated Festivus like they used to, so Jack gave it back to me yesterday.

It's the only holiday decoration I've ever displayed - - - ever.

But that simple, high-tensile strength aluminum pole just gives me a warm feeling whenever I look at it.

Isn't it pretty, with the warm glow of the TV shining upon it?

The Iwanskis have been invited over for the traditional "Airing of Grievances" on the 23rd.

Sigh. . . It's truly the holiday season now.

. . . For the Rest of Us

For those of you are Seinfeld fans, you no doubt know what a Festivus Pole is.

If you’d like a real Festivus Pole for your holiday decorations, you can actually order one here.

I got one for my friends, Jack and Steve and Portia, a few years ago. Portia was enthralled with it as you can see by this heartwarming pic they sent to me.
I think a Festivus Pole would be a great addition to my apartment for the holidays. Actually, I don’t own any Christmas decorations at all. Not one iota. I sort of have an aversion to “things” and a Festivus Pole would reflect that mindset just perfectly.

By the way, Festivus is normally celebrated on December 23rd.
Just so you know.