The Art of Galentines Day

As 2025 starts to go by, February takes its approach, along with the holidays that come with it. Besides Groundhog and President’s Day, there is one special holiday that many look forward to: Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day, also known as Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, happens on February 14 to celebrate love with family and friends. It is a day to celebrate relationships, as well as friendships. Although Valentine’s Day is about spreading and celebrating love between one another, it has been emphasized and popularized to celebrate only the relationships between significant others on this day. However, Gen Z is changing this perspective through the rise of Galentine's Day. 

Galentine’s Day falls on February 13, just a day before Valentine’s. However, it can be celebrated prior to this date. Similarly, Galentine’s is a day to celebrate friendships and connections, specifically between females. Celebrations include small gatherings where friends exchange gifts with each other, with everyone showing their love and appreciation for one another. Galentine’s also includes a variety of activities and options to celebrate this day with friends, whether it is a brunch gathering or picnic date at the park. No matter the choice, the same idea and purpose is spread across and shared between all females celebrating this day. 

Galentine’s was first used and celebrated in a sitcom called “Parks and Recreation” back in 2010, and has gained popularity since. Despite the show ending 5 years later, Galentine’s has evolved from being a “term” into a day dedicated to celebrating female friendships, and continues to live on in our generation.

“Galentine’s lets girls spread love to their closest friends,” Yvanna-Raphaelle Abarico, a Sophomore at Southwest Career & Technical Academy (Las Vegas, NV), stated. “Many female friendships create bonds that are unmatched in terms of platonic closeness. It’s another reason for people to be able to spread love [to] one another.”

Adding on, Galentine’s Day can be considered a special day to many females, especially those that do not have a significant other to celebrate Valentine’s with. Since Valentine’s Day has been so normalized to it only being focused and prioritized on couples, Galentine’s helps make single people feel included and not left out from the expectations possibly given to them by society.

“Galentine’s Day holds a special place in the hearts of many women; those who are single and those with partners who don’t care for the holiday,” Abarico added. “It’s the epitome of ‘women supporting women’ and it’s beautiful to see people uplifting each other.”

Overall, Galentine’s Day is similar to Valentine’s Day but with aspects that make them yet so distinct from each other. The art of Galentine's and it revolving specifically around female friendships rather than relationships and couples is what makes this day very special for many single and taken women alike around the world.