photo credit: Zion Clifton
February is the month of love, with chocolates and roses on every store shelf. It’s hard not to attribute this month to the celebration of significant others and romance. But in recent years, a more popularized shift to celebrating the connections in female friendships has emerged.
Celebrated on Feb. 13, Galentine’s Day is the new precursor to Valentine’s Day.
The term “‘galentine’ was first introduced to the world during a February 2010 episode of “Parks and Recreation”, according to Fox29 News.
Galentine’s day is a new fan favorite, but what exactly does this newly popularized term mean?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Galentine’s Day is a “day for women to celebrate their friendships with their lady friends.”
This unofficial holiday has struck many heartstrings with its message of the importance of friendship.
“There is research that says that if you have a core group of female friends there are benefits to both your mental and physical health. So just dedicating some time to that is a good thing,” English teacher Elizabeth Stringer said.
Celebrating friendship has become an important tradition to both youth and adults alike.
“It is important to celebrate with your friends and enjoy the love that you share with them,” sophomore Saanvi Gulati said.
The celebration of female friendships peaked after the Covid-19 epidemic. This epidemic caused a growth in the community that was forced to occur when everyone was in lockdown, according to Fox News.
“This is an emphasis on female friendships. I think we’re just setting aside the time for female friendships,” Stringer said.
In the original Parks and Recreation episode, Galentine’s day is celebrated with waffles and lots of gift-giving (states National Today). Today this holiday is celebrated across a vast array of activities.
“Usually we just get dinner or brunch, or there was one year where we went to North market together and then the Book Loft. So we really just try to do something fun together,” Stringer said.
Ideas for celebrating definitely vary between people, but they’re all about one thing: celebrating female friendships.
“This year we are going to one of my friends’ houses and we are just going to hangout, just to celebrate each other,” Gulati said.
Some other celebration recommendations include karaoke, baking, playing board games, and watching movies, according to the Cosmopolitan.
This year “we will probably get brunch, we really like getting brunch at this place called High Bank and then we will probably go thrifting afterward,” Stringer said.
Columbus on the Cheap has other suggestions to celebrate, from making cookies at CupCakery to yoga at the Grandview Public Library. They also recommend trying out The Melting Pot for some good food.
“There are lots of events in the upcoming weeks to celebrate your love of friendship,” according to Columbus on the Cheap. No matter how or with whom you celebrate, be sure to appreciate the bonds of female friendship in your life this Valentine’s season.