The Festivus

A humorous guide to the wackiest holiday introduced to modern society. Festivus! The Book is an up-to-date complete reference for anyone who celebrates Festivus or plans to join the fun. Learn all about the traditions of a Seinfeld-based Festivus and witness the nuances of the original Festivus, as celebrated by the O'Keefe family. See first-hand how Festivus is celebrated by others and receive plenty of advice and tips to aid in your own Festivus party plans. What foods should be prepared? Is meatloaf preferred? Should you organize a wrestling match with your father? Are you too feeble for wrestling? What about arm wrestling or even thumb wrestling? How should you Air your Grievances? Maybe this is an opportunity to complain about Grandma's clicking dentures... You'll find great answers to all these questions, and more. "This book completes Festivus' transformation from borderline child endangerment to beloved pop-cultural footnote of the late 1990s." ~ Seinfeld Writer Dan O'Keefe

This Festivus Haggadah uses the classic haggadah as its template, and fuses as much of the Seinfeld canon - and particularly, the curious details of the Festivus holiday - as possible into it. It's a tribute, an homage, a comedic fusion, and something you can enjoy around the Festivus or Passover table. Two holidays, for the low price of one.

A Seinfeld writer and co-creator of the unusual Festivus holiday offers a definitive guide to the celebration of Festivus, covering the complete history, customs, games, activities, party themes, trivia, and other important aspects of the cult phenomenon. Original.

A brand-new and revised edition of the hilarious guide to the national anti-holiday made famous by Seinfeld, complete with never-before-seen material, photos, and illustrations on how to prepare and enjoy your very own Festivus.

Christmas is not everybody’s favorite holiday. Historically, Jews in America, whether participating in or refraining from recognizing Christmas, have devised a multitude of unique strategies to respond to the holiday season. Their response is a mixed one: do we participate, try to ignore the holiday entirely, or create our own traditions and make the season an enjoyable time? This book, the first on the subject of Jews and Christmas in the United States, portrays how Jews are shaping the public and private character of Christmas by transforming December into a joyous holiday season belonging to all Americans. Creative and innovative in approaching the holiday season, these responses range from composing America’s most beloved Christmas songs, transforming Hanukkah into the Jewish Christmas, creating a national Jewish tradition of patronizing Chinese restaurants and comedy shows on Christmas Eve, volunteering at shelters and soup kitchens on Christmas Day, dressing up as Santa Claus to spread good cheer, campaigning to institute Hanukkah postal stamps, and blending holiday traditions into an interfaith hybrid celebration called “Chrismukkah” or creating a secularized holiday such as Festivus. Through these venerated traditions and alternative Christmastime rituals, Jews publicly assert and proudly proclaim their Jewish and American identities to fashion a universally shared message of joy and hope for the holiday season. See also: http://www.akosherchristmas.org

Join a fellow traveler on a walkabout through Paris and London, and then travel with him across England, Scotland and Wales. After those walkabouts, accompany him as he journeys across America and follows the equator to Australia. Finally, wander with him along the corridors of modern and postmodern philosophy, and as he travels with old and new Philosophes, who all voiced an opinion as regards this travel book. It is a book that people won't buy, won't read and won't praise. Mark Twain After reading only a few pages, I gave up the study of philosophy forever. Voltaire I cannot look upon the book without shedding tears. Bertrand Russell If I could only make a travel book like that, I would be perfectly willing to die-even anxious. John Dewey I have seen a great many travel books in my time, but none that this one reminds me of. Will Durant This travel book is one-third fabrication, one-third prevarication and one-third barefaced lies. However, the rest of the book is the unadulterated truth. Dr. Morris A. Nussbaum

This is a book about spirituality for the spiritual but not religious. Those who identify themselves as spiritual but not religious make up one quarter of the population in the United States. This book provides 189 monthly entries based on the national and international celebrations that occur every month. Each entry begins with the name of the occasion and the date when it is marked during the month. A text from the Bible, a US public law, a presidential proclamation, a United Nations declaration, etc. that illustrates the day is presented. The text is followed by a reflection which gleans the spirituality from the text and provides historical background on the day being celebrated. Journal/meditation questions follow the reflection, and a prayer concludes the entry. This book is for the spiritual but not religious, a practice of spirituality that does not regard organized religion as a valuable means to further interior spiritual growth. A section of the introduction to the book explores who the spiritual but not religious are and presents the common themes that surface from research about them.