Galentine’s Day: Thank Amy Poehler For Celebration Of Friendships

ACROSS AMERICA — To all you women out there who may regard Valentine’s Day as a commercialized, made up holiday that’s become rote for many who are romantically coupled and exclusionary to those who aren’t, and all you really want to do is kick back with your girlfriends, we say to you this Sunday, Feb. 13: Happy Galentine’s Day!

Spend Galentine’s Day with your girlfriends. Don’t buy each other gifts. Just celebrate your friendships.

Here are five things to know about Galentine’s Day:

How Galentine’s Day Got Started

Galentine’s Day on Feb. 13 became a thing in 2010, and we have actress Amy Poehler to thank. Here’s how her character, Leslie Knope, explained it in an episode of “Parks and Recreation”:

“What is Galentine’s Day? Oh, it's only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It's like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.”

Galentine's Day Gains International Appeal

Nearly 5 million people watched the Galentine’s Day episode of “Parks and Recreation,” giving the series a boost, according to Merriam-Webster, citing Nielsen Media Research.

Galentine’s Day was mentioned again on episodes in 2012 and 2014, and by 2016, the phrase became popular in publications both in the United States and abroad “as people everywhere embraced the very idea of a holiday for celebrating friendships,” Merriam-Webster explained.

Is It For Women Only?

The root word is “gal,” and that may be off-putting to some men, but it is a celebration of friendship and celebrations aren’t necessarily gender-specific.

Is There A 'Malentine's Day'?

There should be, according to Deana Rohlinger, a professor of sociology at Florida State University, who wrote for The Conversation in 2020 that she finds it surprising that an equivalent celebration for men, “Malentine’s Day,” hasn’t caught on.

“If anything, it seems that men should crave such a holiday,” she wrote. “As a sociologist who studies gender, culture and politics, I know that men are reporting that they feel increasingly isolated as they age, and that this isolation can negatively affect their physical and mental health.

“But it seems that a set of cultural pressures prevent a holiday like ‘Malentine’s Day’ from catching on.”

Retailers Are Catching On

The fake holiday created by a fictional character has become so popular that, not surprisingly, retailers and other businesses have come up with a complete line of Galentine’s Day cards. eCards and gift deals.

As far back as 2017, Megan Garber, who writes about culture for The Atlantic, noted that Galentine’s Day, "has been, at this point, thoroughly Hallmarked," and that "#GalentinesDay hashtags have been rampant on Twitter and Instagram in the days preceding February 13.”