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The holiday evolved during the 1970s, when the elder Mr. OKeefe began — Festivus

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"The holiday evolved during the 1970s, when the elder Mr. OKeefe began doing research for his book "Stolen Lightning" (Vintage 1983), a work of sociology that explores the ways people use cults, astrology and the paranormal as a defense against social pressures. Festivus, with classic rituals like familial gatherings, totemic-but-mysterious objects and respect for ancestors, slouched forth from this milieu. "In the background was Durkheims Elementary Forms of Religious Life," Mr. OKeefe recalled, "saying that religion is the unconscious projection of the group. And then the American philosopher Josiah Royce: religion is the worship of the beloved community." If Mr. OKeefe is the real father of Festivus, Jerry Stiller, the actor who played Frank Costanza, George Costanzas father, is its Santa Claus."
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Festivus is a secular holiday celebrated on December 23 as an alternative to the perceived pressures and commercialism of the Christmas season. Originally created by author Daniel O'Keefe, Festivus entered popular culture after it was made the focus of the 1997 Seinfeld episode "The Strike", which O'Keefe's son, Dan O'Keefe, co-wrote.

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"In the ancient days when gods played their own games, and had their own celebrations, tossing lightning bolts between mountaintops, hurling great boulders — Festivus came out of that. Its a holiday that celebrates being alive at a time when it was hard to be alive. There was no Christ yet, no Yahweh, no Buddha. There were great ruins and raw nature. But there was a kindling spark of hope among men. They celebrated that great thunderous storms hadnt enveloped them in the past year, that landslides hadnt destroyed them. They made wishes that their crops would grow in the fields, that theyd have food the next year and the wild animals wouldnt attack and eat them. Theres something pure about Festivus, something primal, raw in the hearts of humans."
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"Actually I didnt want to put it on TV. It was sort of a family disgrace, and then my younger brother let it slip that this went on, so the other writers and Jerry said, yeah, "wed like to give this to America." I said I dont think America wants it at all or should have it, but they prevailed upon me and now the chickens have come home to roost. … The real symbol of the holiday was a clock my dad put in a bag and nailed to the wall every year … I dont know why, I dont know what it means, he would never tell me. He would always say, "Thats not for you to know." So I honestly don’t know what it signifies."
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