Photo: Comstock

An inmate in the Orange County (CA) jail thought he had a great strategy for forcing the sheriff to give him meals more to his liking: he claimed he was a believer in “Festivus,” a made-up holiday first mentioned on the 1990s TV Show Seinfeld. Further, he claimed that his devotion to Festivus required he be served kosher meals.

Two problems here (at least). One, claiming a religious exemption to jail rules based on a made-up holiday borrowed from a TV show is pretty lame. If you're going that route, why not claim to be a Jedi warrior whose adherence to the ways of the Force requires you to carry a light saber, a la Star Wars?

Second, Festivus has no requirement to keep kosher, per the Seinfeld episode on which it was featured, so what is this guy talking about?

Not much, it seems, since his request was thrown out of court and he's now back to standard jailhouse grub. On the other hand, he is free to practice other, legitimate, Festivus rituals, such as the airing of grievances. Sounds like he's got a few…