D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood has been celebrating Festivus for the past three years. But this year, the Adams Morgan Partnership Business Improvement is taking a break from sponsoring the Dec. 23 holiday, explains Executive Director Barden. What is Festivus?
It became popular from the Seinfeld TV series but it existed long before that and dates back to ancient times. It was sort of a celebration that didn’t have any religious connotation to it and it was done around the [winter] solstice. … We hadn’t really been using the kiosk at 18th and Columbia. … Somebody on the marketing committee came up with the idea: Why not turn it into a Festivus pole like they did on “Seinfeld?”
What’s a Festivus pole?
So during the Seinfeld series — I think it was George Costanza — his family celebrated Festivus. And what they did was decorate a pole with aluminum. … They get together as a family and air their grievances with one another that they’ve had in the year. And they also perform feats of strength.
How did that translate to Adams Morgan?
We put up banners around the four corners of the kiosk and took over three of the four sides as a place for people to air their grievances. We stapled up pens and small notepads. People could rip off a sheet and air their grievances on the bulletin board. … It really took off. The first year we did it, we had such an overwhelming response. People … would stand around all the time writing their grievances. … Then each Saturday in December at noon we had a town crier who would then read aloud the grievances. … We’d have someone from one of the local gyms come and do feats of strength.
So are there no more grievances this year? Is that why you are ending it?
No. We did it for three years. … The third year, people’s interest started to wane. … We didn’t want it to get to the point where it was stale and boring.
— Kytja Weir
