'Seinfeld's' Festivus turns 14

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NEW YORK, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- After 14 years, Festivus, a "holiday for the rest of us" born on the 1990s sitcom "Seinfeld," is still being celebrated in homes across the United States.

"For one miserable episode, the Costanza family invited the world to join them for an inane, bizarre anti-holiday called Festivus. It wasn't a major story point. It wasn't a recurring story line. It was one lousy episode," said "Seinfeld" writer Daniel O'Keefe in his introduction to his 2005 "The Real Festivus."

Mark Nelson, who runs FestivusWeb.com, said interest in the holiday, celebrated Dec. 23, spikes every year around the holidays, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"There is definitely a spike in traffic every year at this time" for the Web site, Nelson said Friday.

The holiday was sparked on the Dec. 18, 1997, episode of "Seinfeld" as character Frank Costanza's family tradition, instead of -- and opposed -- to Christmas. Instead of a tree, you have an unadorned aluminum pole. Celebrators participate in such rituals as the Feats of Strength -- wrestling -- and the Airing of Grievances -- yelling.

"Generally, people are turned on by the zany aspects of Festivus," Nelson said. "For most, it is all about having a good laugh. Most people might celebrate Festivus in addition to celebrating a normal holiday. Festivus just adds more fun to the holiday season."