February truly is the month of love, and Galentines Day on February 13 fits right in. We’re quick to shower our significant others with gifts and treats on February 14, but the DayDay prior was designed to celebrate other equally essential relationships in our lives: our girlfriends! Galentines DayDay is a time to bring together the ladies in your life you love most.
Galentines Day History
Galentine’s Day created the beloved fictional deputy director of Parks and Recreation in Pawnee, Indiana, Leslie Knope. The show’s writers centered the 16th episode of the second season of Parks and Recreation around Leslie’s favorite February tradition, Galentine’s Day. Over a brunch of waffles and excessive gift-giving, Leslie celebrates the joy of female friendship with close friends and co-workers.
What was previously an unknown and unofficial holiday immediately skyrocketed in popularity, so much so that businesses have created Galentine’s Day promotions in honor of the celebration. Special happy hours, group spa discounts, and brunch deals are popular ways to honor the occasion, as the once fictional holiday filled a void in Valentine’s Day market that left single women feeling alienated by the pomp and circumstance of the lover’s holiday.
The holiday that Knope invented bears striking similarities to her character — over-the-top generosity and passionate sincerity. Galentine’s DayDay is to Valentine’s Day what Friendsgiving is to Thanksgiving: a chance to recognize our friends’ impact on our lives and thank them for their steadfast loyalty, love, and laughter.
We could go on, but we think Leslie explains Galentine’s Day best: “Every February 13, my ladyfriends 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 Tradition
Today is all about the girls in your life who are your rock. Be it your sister, mother, or friend, female friendships are significant, and nothing like it. Girls like to hang out, talk, share secrets, and create memories all the time, so there aren’t any specific traditions for this DayDay. Head to your favorite cafe, go ice skating, spend an afternoon with your gal pal at the salon, or order a pizza and watch movies.
The holiday did gain popularity from an episode of ‘Parks and Recreation,’ so it always trends every year on this DayDay on social media. Quotes and memes are shared from this specific episode too.
Stats About Galentine’s Day
4.98 million household viewers of “Galentine’s Day.”
According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode “Galentine’s Day” of Parks and Recreation in the show’s second season garnered nearly 5 million viewers, marking it as an improvement for ratings in the series.
548,000 Instagram posts
Search #GalentinesDay on the social media platform, and you’ll find over half a million posts of women celebrating other women in honor of the holiday.
66% of women buying non-romantic gifts in February
Where sales for Valentine’s Day specifically are trending downwards, Hallmark found that nearly 2/3 of women purchasing cards around Valentine’s Day were doing so for non-romantic relationships, including friends and family. This prompted the brand to release a line of Galentine’s Day cards and others around platonic relationships.
Galentines Day FAQS
Who created Galentines Day?
Galentine’s Day was created by Leslie Knope, the Parks, and Recreation fictional main character. She invented the holiday as a tribute to her close girlfriends.
What are some ways to celebrate Galentine’s Day?
Here are four good ones:
- Brunch, brunch, and brunch some more
- Send your girlfriends a card.
- Get your girlfriends a gift
- Pamper yourselves
Is Galentine’s Day celebrated every year?
Yes! Unofficially, Galentine’s Day is celebrated before Valentine’s Day, annually on February 13.
Galentines Activities
Get your girlfriends together.
- A Galentine’s Day celebration isn’t so without rallying the ladies together! If you can’t all be together in person, a group Skype or FaceTime session will suffice. Whatever the case may be, make sure you’re sharing fond memories, lots of laughter, and maybe a few tears — happy ones only.
Eat, drink, and be merry.
- Perhaps you’ll take a feather from Leslie’s cap and get the girls together for brunch (waffles in particular), or maybe your girl gang is more of a bottle-of-wine-at-happy-hour plus a cheeseboard type of group. Nothing brings friends together like food, and Galentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to indulge in something delicious with your favorite ladies by your side.
Treat yo’ selves
- Parks and Recreation gifted us a wealth of memes, “treat yo’ self” being one; Galentine’s Day is another. Donna Meagle would be proud if you got the girls together for mani-pedis, facials, or a group trip to the spa for a day of pampering.
Facts about Parks and Rec’s “Galentines Day”
Guest Stars
- Leslie tries to reunite her mom with her old flame, played by John Larroquette.
4.98 Million Viewers
- 4.98 million people watched it when it first aired—that’s the population of South Carolina.
Fan-favorite
- It’s the highest-rated episode of the season.
Even Businesses Embraced It
- Not to be overshadowed by its romantic successor, businesses from Lyft to Target promote it on Twitter every year.
Timelessness
- The episode aired in 2010, but its impact will live on forever.
Why do we Love Galentines Day?
It shows how incredible women are
- Women rock, and when women support one another, they rock even more. Galentine’s DayDay allows women to celebrate one another’s achievements, both solo and within their friendships.
It celebrates platonic friendships.
- Relationships may come and go — and Valentine’s Day can be a stark reminder of that — but good friendships are steadfast. Companies continue to play an essential role in our lives, particularly in our adult years, because they create a sense of stability in an increasingly mobile world.
It defies cultural norms.
- Galentine’s DayDay found a gap in the market to acknowledge one of the most common yet unrecognized entities in our lives: Female friendship. With the inception of the #WomenSupportWomen movement and other endorsements of female empowerment, Galentine’s Day becomes an increasingly vital movement to celebrate the people in our life that don’t often receive praise.
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