On “Seinfeld,” the Festivus celebration includes the Feats of Strength and the Airing of Grievances. The Airing of Grievances is the part of the holiday when participants tell one another how they have disappointed them during the past year.
Festivus is presented as an alternative to the commercial pressures of Christmas. In the episode “The Strike,” Frank Costanza introduces the celebration with an aluminum pole, a Festivus dinner, and the declaration that he has “a lotta problems” with the people around him. The ceremony’s deliberately confrontational tone is central to the joke.
The Feats of Strength traditionally follow the meal. The head of the household chooses someone to wrestle, and Festivus is not supposed to end until the head of the household is pinned. Kramer finds a way to evade that requirement during the episode.
Festivus was featured in the season-nine episode “The Strike,” first broadcast on December 18, 1997. The fictional holiday was inspired by writer Dan O’Keefe’s family tradition, although the television version added the pole and several other recognizable rituals.