![](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48e957_0ed858f3764742a6a3b7a73f509e8cf2~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_1225,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/48e957_0ed858f3764742a6a3b7a73f509e8cf2~mv2.png)
The Beer:
Festivus by Market Garden Brewery 7.5%
Description:
“It's a Festivus miracle! This smooth, spiced holiday ale is a heartwarming tribute to our favorite holiday. Brewed with cinnamon, ginger, allspice, whole vanilla beans, and a touch of brown sugar, it's wholesomely malty with an elegant caramelized finish.” - Market Garden Brewery
The twinkling lights, the bustling crowds, the overwhelming joy - Christmas is a time of magic and wonder. But amidst the holiday cheer, there often lurks an unwanted guest: consumerism.
The pressure to buy, buy, buy is omnipresent. Advertisements bombard us with images of perfect families gifting puppies, cars or state of the art tech gadgets. It creates a sense of inadequacy and a yearning for material possessions. We see Christmas as a time to "treat ourselves" and our loved ones by overspending. Oftentimes leading to financial stress.
For some this commercialized version of Christmas is just fine. Bring on the presents! For others, it’s not. Back in 1966 one man had had enough and wanted to do something about it. So he created his own holiday that was secular and lacked all the bells, whistles, tinsel and garland. That man was Daniel O’Keefe and that holiday was Festivus.
If you’re at all familiar with Festivus, no doubt it’s because of the source that put the holiday on the map, the show about nothing, Seinfeld. Some 30 years after the inaugural celebration Daniel O’Keefe’s son, Dan, would pen his family’s holiday into a script, immortalizing it in the annals of pop culture history.
In 1997 Episode 10 of the 9th and final season of Seinfeld aired. Entitled “The Strike” a subplot finds Kramer becoming obsessed with Festivus after learning of it from George’s dad Frank. Frank, like Dan’s father, invented the holiday after becoming cynical of the commercialism that he saw as swallowing Christmas. Kramer learns of some of the Festivus traditions such as the Festivus Pole, “the feats of strength“ and the now famous “airing of grievances”.
But how much of what we saw in Seinfeld was real and how much was embellishment? Well, let’s take a look.
When it comes to the Festivus pole we first see George’s dad Frank carrying, rather dragging, it famously into Monk’s Café. Befitting with the holiday’s theme the pole was simply an aluminum pole. Something one might find holding up a chain link fence. The pole was affixed to an aluminum base and that was it. No, garland or lights or tinsel, especially tinsel as that was found to be “distracting”. The unadorned aluminum pole was meant to be a symbol, a deliberate rejection of the Christmas tree which Frank saw as the literal manifestation of consumerism.
In reality, though, no Festivus Pole existed during the real celebration. Dan O’Keefe gives credit to fellow Seinfeld writer Jeff Schaffer for creating the now-famous bizarro Christmas tree. Instead the O’Keefe family would take a clock, place it in a bag, and nail it to the wall. The meaning of w,hich was not revealed to Dan or his siblings.
But two other traditions that Kramer learns about did exist. "feats of strength" and the “airing of grievances”, The “feats” are pretty self-explanatory, usually consisting of wrestling matches between the elder Daniel and his sons.
The “airing of grievances” was a little more complicated.
While Frank declares a “The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I’ve got a lot of problems with you people. Now you’re going to hear about it.”
According to writer Dan O’Keefe, the grievances occurred after, not before, a traditional dinner of ham, turkey or even stew or lamb chops followed by a pecan pie or a white Pepperidge Farm cake, iced with chocolate frosting and adorned with M & M’s and not a meatloaf atop a bed of lettuce, as portrayed in the show.
While the practice may seem mean spirited the grievances were often simply good-natured complaining. A way to get things off ones chest of some of the annoyances that piled up from the previous year and clear your mind for the new one.
While it might sound unconventional, the O'Keefe family cherished their Festivus traditions. It was a way to connect, laugh, and release some pent-up emotions.
But Festivus is more than just a funny "Seinfeld" bit. It's a reminder that holidays don't have to be dictated by commercialism or social pressure. They can be whatever we make them: a time for family, reflection, and maybe even a little bit of healthy complaining.
#beer #thisiscle #clethatilove #cleveland #clevelandbrewerypassport #ohiobrewblog #festivus #marketgardenbrewery #atthecrossroadsofbeerandeverything
Comments