Festivus

Last year I gave Ron a lovely red and green striped cane for Christmas. He was suitably grateful, and at the first opportunity he showed his gratitude by trying it out on my bottom. The experience was less than gratifying. The cane was just too thick for our liking, and produced too much of a thud. It was rather like being spanked with a small baseball bat. So we agreed that it has been a lovely thought, but the implement would not be included in the regular rotation.

"It would make a good Festivus tree," Ron observed. So that's what I did.

For those of you who weren't fans of the long-running comedy show Seinfeld, Festivus is a non-commercial alternative to Christmas, celebrated on December 23. "A Festivus for the rest of us" is how it is explained in the show, as a reference to the day's non-commercial aspect. A Festivus celebration traditionally includes a dinner without turkey or ham, followed by the "Airing of Grievances" and "Feats of Strength".

We'll include the Festivus tree in our holiday decorations this year, but I don't know about the rest. Meatloaf just doesn't cut it as a substitute for the traditional turkey.