What is Galentine’s Day?
If you’re a fan of Parks and Recreation—more specifically, if you’re a fan of Amy Poehler’s character on the show, Leslie Knope—then I’m sure you already know all about Galentine’s Day. For those of you who have never watched Parks and Recreation—first off, why haven’t you watched Parks and Recreation?—Galentine’s Day is a day for celebrating the relationships you have with close friends and loved ones as opposed to Valentine’s Day during which you celebrate the intimate relationship you have with a lover, partner, fiancé, or spouse.
Some people also use Valentine’s Day as an occasion to awkwardly panic and ask out the first person that comes to mind rather than celebrate alone. The former—panicking and impulsively asking someone you’re not romantically interested in out on a date—seems a tad bit worse to me, but to each their own.
Galentine’s Day is fittingly celebrated on February 13th directly before Valentine’s Day. It’s not technically a holiday but, hey, Valentine’s Day isn’t really much of a holiday either. Plenty of people may take Valentine’s Day off to spend with their special someone, but you’re likely not getting paid for it unless you use up some of your precious holiday hours.
Anyhow, if this is your first Galentine’s Day, you might be wondering with whom you could possibly spend the day and what you might do on this most sacred of feminist holidays. Well, it’s not actually a feminist holiday—I just tend to think of it that way—and, despite the name, it’s not a gal-only holiday, either. Though, Leslie Knope does often use it as an opportunity to brunch it up with her lady friends.
Choosing Your Galentine(s)
After hearing a bit about Galentine’s Day, it’s possible that the individual with whom you’re interested in spending the special occasion has already crept into your mind: your childhood best friend, your closest friend from work, a sibling, a parent, or maybe—just as Leslie Knope actually does on Galentine’s Day in Parks and Recreation—you want to spend the day with a group that might include all of the above.
And that’s the neat thing about Galentine’s Day. While Valentine’s Day is typically used to celebrate a single intimate relationship—or perhaps you’re in a polyamorous relationship, so no judgement here—Galentine’s Day is ideal for celebrating the array of important relationships and friendships that saturate your life. Hell, you can even invite your lover, partner, fiancé, or spouse because those individuals qualify as your friends and loved ones, too, right?
At least I hope that’s the case for most individuals.
Selecting an Activity for Galentine’s Day
There are oh so many ways you can spend the day with your Galentine(s): you might follow in Leslie Knope’s footsteps and treat some of your closest friends and loved ones to brunch whilst sharing important stories or experiences from your lives; you might head up to a ski resort with a few close buddies and hit the slopes for the day; you might chill out and relax with a good old fashioned movie and a bottle of wine (substitute: case of beer); or you might pack all of these activities into one epic day.
Anything’s possible on Galentine’s Day.
And if you’re like me and you’re in a situation where you don’t really have an option to spend Galentine’s Day with the important individuals in your life—I just moved to a new town and don’t know a single soul out here—then you can even just have a video call with a few of your close friends, talk on the phone, or create something special to share with your friends and loved ones the next time you see them. For instance, I’m writing Galentine’s Day cards for a few individuals in my life who have been extra supportive and inspiring this year in the yoga community.
To me, Galentine’s Day is definitely a holiday—let’s just call it a holiday, okay?—worth celebrating, especially if you’re one of those individuals who thinks Valentine’s Day is complete shit and kind of a money grab. There are no heart-shaped chocolates, wilting flowers, or awkward impulsive date-asking necessary with Galentine’s Day.
Don’t get me wrong, though: I will be the first one to run to the store the day after Valentine’s Day and grab those heart-shaped chocolates for myself at half price.