Happy Festivus! How to celebrate and where to stream all the ‘Seinfeld’ holiday episodes

It’s that time of year again… time for a Festivus for the rest of us! This Monday, December 23rd is a time for family, food and the annual airing of grievances during Festivus, the alternative Christmas holiday first celebrated on screen by the Costanza family in the Seinfeld universe (and the O’Keefe family in real life), and now celebrated by Seinfeld fans and those who enjoy both complaining and struggling! Are you ready to celebrate Festivus? If you need a refresher, here’s how to celebrate Seinfeld holiday, plus where to watch the Festivus episode Seinfeldas well as the rest of the sitcom’s holiday episodes.

What is Festivus?

Festivus is a holiday first created in season 9, episode 10 of Seinfeld. Invented by George Costanza’s father, Frank, Festivus is an alternative to Christmas where families can air their grievances against each other, decorate with an unadorned metal pole and physically wrestle.

The TV holiday was actually inspired by real life Seinfeld family traditions of writer Dan O’Keefe. His own father invented a version of Festivus, and Dan mixed real aspects of his own family traditions with others Seinfeld Writers’ suggestions for creating the holiday we all love to celebrate today.

When is Festivus?

Festivus, a Festivus for the rest of us, falls on December 23 every year. This year it happens to be a Monday, which feels like the perfect day for the Airing of Grievances.

This is how you celebrate Festivus:

There are three key elements to Festivus. First, you should purchase a metal pole for holiday decoration, because as Frank Costanza put it, tinsel is distracting, and a plain pole requires no decoration.

Next, you must participate in the Airing of Grievances (preferably at the dining table). Here, members of the family talk about how they were abandoned by each other that year (how funny!). You can also complain about other things in your life or about the world as a whole.

And finally the ‘strength feats’, where you actually fight each other! This could be in the form of wrestling, as Frank Costanza preferred, or something less physical. Maybe some kind of game! But feel free to skip this step if you have to work a double shift at H&H Bagels…

Another way to celebrate Festivus? Revised from the original Festivus Seinfeld episode, or maybe even all of the Christmas episodes of Seinfeld.

Which episode of Seinfeld is about Festivus?

The last holiday episode of SeinfeldSeason 9, Episode 10, “The Strike,” tells the story of Festivus.

Where can you watch the Festivus episode from Seinfeld:

You can stream all nine seasons of Seinfeld on Netflix. But if you want to take it a step further, the complete series has just been released for the first time on Blu-Ray (and 4K!), just in time for Festivus!

This is especially good news for fans concerned about how the series’ aspect ratio will translate to streaming. In the DVD format, the series should be restored to its original aspect ratio – call that a Festivus miracle!

Seinfeld holiday episodes:

• “The Red Dot” (Season Three, Episode 12)

• “The Pick” (Season Four, Episode 13)

• “The Race” (Season Six, Episode 10)

• “The Label Maker” (Season Six, Episode 12)

• “The Gum” (Season Seven, Episode 10)

• “The Andrea Doria” (Season eight, episode 10)

• “The Millennium” (Season Eight, Episode 20)

• “The Strike” (Season Nine, Episode 10)