While Cupid is busy making people fall in love, others are hard at work preparing to celebrate love’s purest form: friendship. While romantic love is important, platonic love is just as crucial, and it is just as fun to celebrate!
Forget the chocolate and cheesy Valentine’s Day grams, galentine’s day is all about being surrounded by the people you love most, your best friends. And it does not involve all the cliches that come with a Valentine’s Day celebration.
The term ‘galentine’s day’ was coined by the hit show Parks and Recreation in 2009 when a character named Leslie Knope decided female friendships should be celebrated. Saying “ladies, celebrate ladies.” And so they did, and every February 14th since then has been for celebrating your best girlfriends.
The best part about galentine’s day is that there is no correct way to celebrate it, you just do what you love most surrounded by the people you love the most. But some of the most popular activities include crafting such as painting, baking and cooking fun heart shaped delectables, and watching chick flicks, obviously.
Galentine’s Day is for people of all ages. No matter how old you are, your friendships deserve to be celebrated. Quinn Pinto, a freshman at Wando, who is hosting a galentine’s day party of her own, believes it is a great way to foster new connections and strengthen old ones.
“I think Galentine’s day is a great way to connect with your friends and people that you don’t know yet,” Pinto said.
Like all of us, Pinto thinks that galentine’s is a great time and especially a fun time to get dressed up and enjoy your company.
“My favorite thing is probably just getting together with my friends and doing activities that we don’t usually do and like dressing up, it’s super fun,” Pinto said.
While acknowledging the fun part about Galentine’s Day, it is also important to mention the holiday’s sentimental value. For Wando freshman Tenley Scanga, Galentines was all about the people you spend it with.
“It helps me grow relationships with my other friends and it’s just like supporting other girls. I think of just hanging out with friends having a good time and having a party with pink and spreading thankfulness for each other,” Tenley said.
In short, although the holiday wasn’t officially created until 15 years ago, its popularity has been a huge aid in helping grow friendships and celebrating each other. It is not all about the candy or the rom-coms, sometimes it is just about who you celebrate and that is just as important as anything else.
So the next time you host a galentine’s day party, remember to have fun and celebrate what is important. But be sure to thank Parks and Rec’s beloved Leslie Knope for giving you the chance to celebrate the amazing holiday that falls on February 14th, Galentine’s Day.
