Stacy and Mark were walking together through the first snow of the season. They dragged their sleds behind them to the park a few blocks from their homes. It had the best hills in the neighborhood. They were sure it would be crowded with kids like it always was. Sometimes it would get so bad they would have to form lines. Still they got up early to try to get in as much time as they could before the sunset so they were confident they would get good use of their sleds. The shortest day of the year was only two days ago so they had to make sure every minute counted.
Once they arrived they went to the biggest hill and laughed and screamed as they went down. They then trudged back up to do it all over again. Each trip down the slope seemed as thrilling as the first. As it got more and more crowded they would sometimes bump into other kids or have to steer their sleds out of the way of someone trudging back up the hill but it was still a great time.
As the sun started to get low in the sky Mark suddenly told Stacy that he needed to get home. “What? Why now? We still have at least another hour of daylight”, Stacy pleaded.
“I just have something to do with my family tonight.”
“What some kind of holiday thing? I thought you always said your family wasn’t big on Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or any of that stuff.” Actually as Stacy thought back she always remembered Mark getting weird right before Christmas arrived. In fact, ever since they met on the first day of kindergarten she couldn’t think of a time when she saw much of him the day before Christmas Eve. Even if they had school he was always pulled out of the holiday party early. She never really thought much of it and Mark would always say he just had something he needed to do. But now it was different. This was cutting into their sledding time. It was the perfect snow for sledding too. It was still early in the season but who knew how many more snow storms they would get.
“It’s just something I have to do with them tonight. No big deal.” Mark shot back.
“I’m your best friend. I can tell when you're keeping something from me. Don’t make me hold your face in the snow until you tell me.”
“I have Festivus tonight, alright!”, Mark blurted out. He immediately then looked around to make sure all the other kids were too busy sledding to hear him.
Stacy gave a quizzical look. “What’s Festivus?”
“It’s just this made up holiday from some old TV show that my parents used to watch.”
“That sounds….weird.”
“It is that’s why I never mentioned it. You can keep sledding if you want but I gotta go home.”
“Na, I’ll call my parents and tell them I’m having dinner at your house tonight. If you gotta go through this then I’m sticking with you.”
“You really don’t know what you're getting yourself into here.”
“I can handle it.”
So Stacy and Mark packed up their snow gear and headed to Mark’s house. Mark’s parents were delighted to introduce Stacy to Festivus. Mark’s Dad showed Stacy the big aluminum pole he propped up in a flower pot full of rocks. They then had Stacy write any grievances she had on pieces of paper and then helped her stuff them into a cardboard tube that was painted silver. After they ate a delicious take out meal they broke open the tube and read everyone’s grievances out-loud anonymously. Stacy was laughing at many of them but Mark just sat there with a sour expression. Mark’s Mom then sat at the piano and they sang “O Festivus” together. Then Mark’s Dad fired up an old gaming system and they each took turns fighting each other. Mark made apologies for the poor graphics of the video game. His parents had beat Mark’s older siblings as well as Mark and Stacy so it was down to just them. Mark buried his face as his parents started to try and wrestle the controllers from one another. When his Mom won and started doing a victory dance Mark ran up to his room.
“What’s with him?”, Mark’s Mom asked.
“I’ll talk to him”, said Stacy.
Stacy knocked on Mark’s door. “Go away!”, Mark growled from the other side.
“It’s me Stacy.”
“You too! I’m too ashamed to face you.”
“Ashamed over what?”
“You saw what’s been going on all night.”
“Yea, the best holiday ever.”
Mark swung the door open. “What are you talking about? My parents are a joke. They didn’t even cook a meal and there are no presents.”
“True but they had fun together. That’s what holidays should be about. You know what the holidays are like at my house? My Mom stresses over making sure ever inch of the house is neat and spotless before my grandparents come over. They sit around talking about boring stuff while my Dad fixates on making sure we have enough chairs and how many cars are in the driveway. My parents then argue with each other about who sits where and how to prepare all the food. My aunt and uncle then get drunk and start acting all weird.”
Mark arched an eyebrow. “And this wasn’t weird?”
“Not really. Your Dad explained that the aluminum pole symbolized that things are what they are and you yourself make them out to be what you want them to be. And it was great to finally air out what has been bothering me all year. Maybe I won’t loose it on my own folks over winter break for once. It actually made me feel more heard than I think I have ever felt. And the wrestling was just fun.”
Mark shrugged. “I guess. I just wish I was like everyone else.”
Stacy put her arm around Mark’s shoulders and smiled. “You don’t want that. What fun is being like everyone else. So let’s go have a good time.”
“Thanks, Stacy.” Mark and Stacy went back down stairs to have a rematch with Mark’s parents and they all enjoyed their Festivus.
The End
