That’s why December 23, the date for Festivus given on Seinfeld, is seen only as a suggestion, one that is usually ignored in favor of dates that aren’t within travel periods for the more back-home holidays. Early December is popular for Festivus celebrations at offices, bars, homes, dark parking lots—anywhere.But any day of the year can be Festivus. For the extended Kehler family, Festivus comes in July. An aluminum tent pole is erected in the center of an Ontario campground and an Airing of Grievances is held around the fire. “People tell embarrassing stories about themselves,” says Therese Kehler, 40, an editor at the Edmonton Journal, “and kids are allowed to air grievances against their parents.”Even at the height of summer, the delicious darkness of Festivus can flourish. One year, Kehler’s son expressed his disappointment about the time she didn’t take him to a hockey game in which Wayne Gretzky played. Next, a female family member was ridiculed for once being so occupied flipping her hair coquettishly at a construction worker that she walked blindly into a glass door.Therese Kehler’s brother Bob topped everyone another year with his grievance against his own body, revealing a secret not even his sister had known.
