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Some Escape The Holiday Hype With A Festivus Celebration

DETROIT (WWJ) - It's a fictitious holiday -- that some metro Detroiters actually celebrate!

For years Carol Thompson and a group of friends, who met as teenagers, gather together to celebrate Festivus, a holiday for the rest of us.

"I think the Seinfeld episode, says it's December twenty-third, we don't ever stick to that, we just kind of get together usually it's between Christmas and New Years," said Thompson. "I'm not sure how it evolved, we've been doing it so long - I can't remember."

festivus pole
Festivus (credit: Marie Osborne/WWJ)

She tells WWJ's Marie Osborne that the focus of the group, which includes anywhere from 8-12 people, is on the Seinfeld foods the "salad, marbled rye, soup from the soup Nazi, and junior mints are always in there too."

And the center of the festivities is, of course, the Festivus pole.

"We have a Festivus pole and it goes house to house from whoever is hosting a party that year has the pole, " she said.

As for the other Festivus traditions like the airing of grievances or demonstrating 'feats of strength?' "No feats of strength, we're pretty lazy," said Thompson. "We just kind of get together to have a good time and eat some good food," and keep it friendly.

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