( CNN ) -- It 's December 23 , so `` let 's rumble ! '' As last-minute shoppers fueled on eggnog scramble for those final gifts for relatives thrice-removed , there 's another celebration afoot Tuesday : Festivus . Festivus was introduced in the ninth and final season of `` Seinfeld '' as a holiday that George Costanza , played by Jason Alexander , begrudgingly grew up with as an antidote to the season 's growing focus on consumerism . While the episode originally aired on December 18 , 1997 , the holiday and its eccentric customs -- like the `` feats of strength '' and `` airing of grievances '' -- live on with much fanfare . `` Many Christmases ago , I went to buy a doll for my son . I reach for the last one they had -- but so did another man . As I rained blows upon him , I realized there had to be another way ! '' George 's father , Frank Costanza , played by Jerry Stiller , explained in the episode . And so a `` Festivus for the rest of us '' was born . The Twitterverse is rife with Festivus references this time of year . `` HAPPY FESTIVUS ! '' Alexander exclaimed Tuesday on the site . `` May ur pole be straight , ur feats be strong & your grievances be few . With love from the Costanzas - Frank , Estelle , George . '' Festivus has even spawned literature like a 2005 guide to the holiday called `` Festivus : The Holiday for the Rest of Us . '' Despite the absurdity of it all , Seinfeld writer Dan O'Keefe said he , in fact , grew up with this peculiar holiday of his own father 's creation , and the `` airing of grievances '' into a tape recorder was a real part of it . However , the pole and the father-son wrestling match were made for TV . `` I was not forced to wrestle my father . If I had , I would 've been raised by the state of New York , '' O'Keefe told CNN in a 2013 interview about the `` feats of strength '' that appear in the episode . Much like Costanza , O'Keefe did n't want the tradition to leave the family circle . `` I did n't want to put it on TV because it was sort of a family disgrace , '' O'Keefe joked . But when the show 's other writers and Jerry Seinfeld caught wind of it from O'Keefe 's brother , majority opinion prevailed . Fellow writer Jeff Schaffer came up with the Festivus aluminum pole , which fans can now purchase online . The real symbol was a clock in a bag nailed to the wall , which O'Keefe says his father still has n't explained to him . `` I thought it was going to be the most forgettable part of it that was cut out for syndication , '' O'Keefe said . Instead , the pole and the holiday took on a life of their own . And that is a Festivus miracle . `` Seinfeld '' at 25 : Five reasons nothing is everything .
Festivus was popularized by `` Seinfeld '' in the show 's ninth season . Since then , fans have celebrated the anti-consumerism holiday . The tradition is a bit more than just an excuse to get together with friends and family for food and drink ; it has become one of those things that people do every year because they like doing