Torontoist would like to take a moment to wish all of our readers a very happy Festivus.

Since the Seinfeld episode “The Strike” first aired on December 18, 1997, thousands of fans from all over the world have taken it upon themselves to establish their own annual Festivus celebrations, mostly happening on December 23. And yes, while the recent Michael Richards spat may have made it difficult to remain a Seinfeld fan, let’s not allow that to ruin this year’s celebration, which will likely include the usual Festivus pole, dinner and feats of strength. As for the airing of grievances, you'll have to wait until boxing day, when we begin to run our year-end lists.

For more information, we recommend the book Festivus: The Holiday for the Rest of Us by Allen Salkin (with a foreward by Jerry Stiller), though a more credible account may come from Seinfeld writer Daniel O’Keefe’s book, The Real Festivus, with its forward courtesy of Jason Alexander.

And while it’s probably too late to purchase a Festivus pole this year, those who’d like to celebrate next year can find them here for about $35 USD, courtesy of the Milwaukee-based Wagner companies. We highly recommend their flash video about Festivus and the short documentary on the making of their poles.

Happy Festivus, everyone!

Photo courtesy of R&B Wagner Inc.