Today is December 23, which means it’s Finn Wolfhard’s birthday (the most important December birth, imo), as well as the annual airing of grievances known as Festivus.
The Christmas-adjacent holiday was introduced in the Seinfeld season nine episode, “The Strike,” and has since become “the perfect secular theme for an all-inclusive December gathering,” as the New York Times once wrote. In real life, it was created by Seinfeld writer Dan O’Keefe’s father, Daniel, but on the show, it’s Frank Costanza, played by Jerry Stiller, who comes up with the traditions. There’s the pole (it requires no direction because Frank finds tinsel “distracting”), the Feats of Strength (“Until you pin me, George, Festivus is not over”), and the Festivus dinner, where “you gather your family around and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year.”
There was a lot of disappointment in 2020, including losing Stiller, who passed away in May at 92 years old. On this, the first Festivus without Frank Costanza, Seinfeld fans are paying tribute to the actor who taught us that there’s a “Festivus for the rest of us.”
Ugh this is the first Festivus without Jerry Stiller and I’m sad. #Festivus pic.twitter.com/gSHTu8Fx7I
— CARLI Claus (@carlipetow) December 23, 2020
Get out the pole. It’s Festivus 2020, our chance to tell this year how it’s disappointed us. Seems fitting to start with losing Jerry Stiller in May. #Festivus pic.twitter.com/XdngdfRtB2
— Andy Hilger (@ahilger1) December 23, 2020
This will be the first #Festivus without our chief grievance officer #JerryStiller. Honor him by gathering around an aluminum pole and by challenging family members who have disappointed you to feats of strength.
2020 NEEDS FESTIVUS NOW MORE THAN EVER!#FestivusForTheRestOfUs pic.twitter.com/ytlheYtxrW
— William Wassmann || FESTIVUS 4 THE REST OF US (@wmwassmann) December 23, 2020
Festivus should also be National Jerry Stiller Appreciation Day
— Charlie Gile (@CharlieGileNBC) December 23, 2020
Just realized this is our first #Festivus without #JerryStiller. RIP you hilarious son of a gun. Happy Festivus everyone! I’ve got a lot of problems with you people. Time for the airing of grievances. pic.twitter.com/gWy9S3phqt
— Jason Fraley (@JFrayWTOP) December 23, 2020
Happy #Festivus for the rest of us y’all! Important to remember to air your grievances and test your feats of strength! Also #RestInPower #JerryStiller pic.twitter.com/2ITCYl4bXD
— Escobar Furious Sr. (@EscobarFurious) December 23, 2020
Just one more reason 2020 sucked. We lost the great #JerryStiller. #happyfestivus pic.twitter.com/FQcCztyyd6
— Ma and Pa Cast (@MaandPaCast) December 23, 2020
Raising a glass to the late Jerry Stiller on #Festivus…
And all of you have been a tremendous disappointment this year! pic.twitter.com/zfF0DgSha6
— Jeff Pro-kop-o-wits (@JeffProkopowicz) December 23, 2020
Our first Festivus without #JerryStiller. Make sure your aluminum pole shines extra bright tonight. pic.twitter.com/5wK4e4NGVX
— James Humphreys (@ActuallyJCH) December 23, 2020
#HappyFestivus today! Thank you #JerryStiller for giving us such iconic performances to quote every year! pic.twitter.com/3jhxJqZWO4
— Christopher Goodman (@ChrisJGoodman) December 23, 2020
Happy #Festivus! We miss you #JerryStiller pic.twitter.com/xphHFC22My
— Sandra L. Rostirolla (@SLRostirolla) December 23, 2020
“It’s a pretty good holiday when you think about it,” “The Strike” co-writer Jeff Schaffer told about Festivus’ legacy. “It’s the perfect antidote to Christmas when you’re supposed to pretend to be nice to everybody, and give them presents. Why not have its evil twin where you can sit around a pole and tell everyone what you don’t like about them?”
For much more on the origin of Festivus, click here.