We’ve all heard of Valentine’s Day – the eternal day for lovers that is celebrated every February 14th, but are you aware of Galentine’s Day? It’s the ‘global holiday’ for women to celebrate their friendships with their female friends on the 13th February, although it can be informally celebrated on any day in February before the 14th.
Never heard of it? Well, neither had I until I came across the TV show Parks & Recreation, series 2, episode 16 that originally aired in 2010. That’s because Galentine’s is a totally made up day direct from the imagination of Parks & Rec writers, led by Michael Schur.
However, if you care to look up it on Wikipedia, you will find it described as thus: “Galentine's Day events are typically all-female occasions of mutual "empowerment...a reminder for women to support and uplift one another.”
Like the TV show itself the Wikipedia post is written tongue-in-cheek, but that hasn’t stopped major retailers in the USA, such as Walmart, Amazon et al from promoting Galentine’s Day within their stores and online, especially after Michelle Obama posted a pic online in 2020 celebrating the day – a decade after the Parks & Rec episode first aired!
So, is this another fad from the realms of make-believe or a worthy day that will increase in popularity to become just as prevalent as Valentine’s Day? What do you think?
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