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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks to supporters gathered at The Champions of Liberty Rally in Hebron, Ky., in August.(Photo: Bryan Woolston, AP)

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul is keeping up with his annual celebration of "Festivus" byairing silly and semi-serious grievances at political opponents and alliesahead of Christmas Day.

"You'll be surprised to learn I have some grievances with people in Washington, fellow members and others," Paul tweeted on Sunday. "Its time to talk about them now, because its the holiday season."

Author Daniel O'KeefecreatedFestivus, the made-up Dec. 23 holiday popularized in the late 1990s by the TV sitcom"Seinfeld." Itcalls on people to voice disappointments with others over the past year.

Paul has been doing this on Twitter since 2016.

Among the targets of Kentucky's junior senator this year were President Trump's staffing problems, Republican Sens. Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz, neo-conservative"warmongers" and liberals, in general. He also addedhis take on whether "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie.

One person noticeably absent on Paul's list was Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes, who mocked the senator at the annual Fancy Farm picnic this year for being beaten up by hisneighbor, Rene Boucher, a retired physicianwho attacked the senator last year over yard debris.

Paul suffered five broken ribs and bruised lungs, and Boucher was sentenced to 30 days for assaulting a member of Congress.

But few others are spared Paul's dry wit.

The annual mix of jokes and biting criticism confused some followers of the libertarian-leaning senator's Twitter feed. Among those who didn't get what was going on wasNew York Times reporterMaggie Haberman who asked:"What is happening with this feed today?"

"Same thing as every Festivus Maggie," Doug Stafford, Paul's chief strategist, tweeted in response. "Follow along."

Like everything on social media, there are mixed reactions to Paul's attempt at humor, with some appreciating his Gen-X '90s nostalgia while others consider it obnoxious fodder.

But it's clear that Paulisn't letting it go.

One moment of bipartisanshipthat could lead to actual policy change during Pauls "Festivus" rant were his tweets about criminal justice reform, which Congress approved before the year ended.

Paul worked closely with Democratic U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, of New Jersey, on the legislation, and the two want to go further in overhauling the federal system, including U.S. marijuana laws,at least according to their online exchange.

You may like: Mitch McConnell says Senate will vote on criminal justice reform bill

Read this: GOP deputy misleading McConnell on criminal justice bill, advocate says

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at502-582-4475 orpbailey@courierjournal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today:courier-journal.com/philb.

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Rand Paul airs his 'Festivus' grievances on Twitter