Happy Festivus! Here's what you need to know from Festivus poles to airing grievances

Happy Festivus! A Festivus for the rest of us.

These words ring true for nearly every "Seinfeld" fan and the tradition of celebrating the holiday continues to grow each year.

It's time to get the Festivus pole out of the crawlspace.

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Here's what you need to know about Festivus:

When is Festivus?

Festivus is on Dec. 23 every year. In 2023, Festivus lands on a Saturday.

What is Festivus?

Festivus is a holiday established on an episode of "Seinfeld."

Dan O'Keefe, one of the "Seinfield" writers, shared the idea of Festivus in honor of his dad, Daniel O'Keefe. The elder O'Keefe established Festivus in February of 1966. The date was moved to December in honor of his first date with his future wife.

In the "Seinfeld" episode, Frank Costanza — who is played by Jerry Stiller — loved Christmas, but recognized how greed and commercialism were overtaking the holiday. In response, Festivus was born.

What is the Seinfeld Festivus episode?

If you want to watch the Festivus episode of "Seinfield," you'll need season 9, episode 10 titled, "The Strike."

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How do you celebrate Festivus?

Anyone can celebrate Festivus, regardless of religion or creed. There are just a few simple rules to follow:

• Find a Festivus pole

• Airing of grievances

• Festivus dinner

• Feats of strength

• Festivus miracles

What is a Festivus pole?

A Festivus pole can be any pole that is made of aluminum and has a very high strength-to-weight ratio. No decoration is required because as Constanza puts it, "I find tinsel distracting."

You can score an aluminum pole to use as a Festivus pole for about $7.99 on Amazon. There's also a Festivus Celebration Kit on Amazon for $11.66.

What is the Festivus airing of grievances?

This is exactly what you would expect it to be. The all-important start of Festivus is airing your grievances by gathering family and friends around the dinner table and telling them how they've disappointed over the past year.

What is Festivus dinner?

A true Seinfeld Festivus dinner consists of meatloaf served over lettuce leaves with mashed potatoes and peas.

According to the book "The Real Festivus," the O'Keefe Festivus dinner included a main course of turkey, ham, beef stew or lamb chops, and pecan pie as dessert.

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What is the Festivus feats of strength?

After dinner, the Festivus host or head of household will randomly select a friend or family member seated around the dinner table to wrestle to the floor. The holiday does not officially end until the head of household is pinned.

The event begins by the host or head of household removing all bulky clothing and bellowing, "Let's rumble!"

A person may decline to participate, but only if the selected person has something better to do. In the "Seinfeld" episode, Kramer nominated George to take his place because he had to "work a double shift at H&H."

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What is a Festivus Miracle?

A Festivus Miracle is an ordinary manifestation that happens frequently but yet is fairly unimpressive. These achievements are marked by the words, "It's a Festivus Miracle!"

Granted, the Festivus Miracle isn't officially one of the rules, but I think we can all agree the idea is pretty great and should be celebrated.

Examples include:

• Washing the dishes and not only getting them all clean but not breaking any.

• Carrying in groceries and not tripping or dropping any bags.

• Filling your car with gas and not smelling like gasoline when you get back into the car.

• Pouring a glass of milk and managing not to spill a single drop.

You probably get the point. "It's a Festivus Miracle!"

How to watch the Festivus Seinfeld episode

"Seinfeld" can currently be found on Netflix, so if you're a subscriber, you can watch "The Strike" and binge watch every other episode of the series.

Chris Sims is a digital producer for the Journal Star. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Festivus 2023: A Festivus for the rest of us - what you need to know