Why Valentine's Day is out, but Galentine's Day is in thanks to Parks and Recreation

It's like it wants to be treated like a real holiday - a Christmas for couples, if you will - but its exclusivity in both participants and expected gifts makes it fall flat - or it does for me at least.

That being said, my dislike for Valentine's Day does put me in an awkward - almost, hypocritical - position. While February 14 is just another day on the calendar for me, February 13 is a day that I do celebrate. Because February 13 is Galentine's Day.

What is Galentine's Day, you ask?

While the day isn't going to be showing up in your Google Calendar anytime soon, the idea took off just over a decade ago after it was mentioned in an episode of Parks and Recreation.

Created by the show's writers, the day first appeared in the 2010 episode, aptly named Galentine's Day, which sees Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) taking her favourite gal pals out from waffles.

"Every February 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home and we just come and kick it, breakfast style," Leslie says in the episode. "Ladies celebrating ladies."

The show then ran with the idea, with multiple different episodes featuring Galentine's Day.

"It was the perfect Leslie Knope idea, because the idea was, the day beforehand, let's eliminate the romantic aspect of it - because it's exclusionary to people who aren't in romances - and say, there isn't a day set aside where we just celebrate friendships, especially female friendships. And so she just took it upon herself to do that," Parks and Recreation co-creator Mike Schur told the LAist in 2019.

In the years since it has grown from a plot point in a TV show to being something that people genuinely love to celebrate every year. Myself included.

Yes - some companies use it as a promotional event but those promotions are neither here, nor there when it comes to the day itself. At its core, it's still this wholesome celebratory day, where you go out with friends to celebrate each other. I imagine Valentine's Day was also this wholesome at some stage. At some point, I'm sure it too was celebrated without pressure or expectations.

It's Galantine's Day's lack of pressure is the main reason I love it.

There's no need to buy flowers, chocolates or a corny teddy bear for each other - but if that's your jam, don't let me stop you. There are no rules in how you celebrate the day, and there are no rules as to who you celebrate it with.

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There's not even pressure to celebrate the day at all - a nice change for couples when it comes to Valentine's Day. Everyone who celebrates it does it because they want to.

I've spent Galentine's Day at fancy restaurants, and on someone's couch for a movie night. I've celebrated it singing karaoke well into the night and I've marked it with brunch with friends.

And that's kind of the point. It can be anything and everything you want it to be. But mainly it's a chance to celebrate how great your friends are - and what's wrong with that?

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