"Galentine's Day"

[mom2rtk]

My daughter and her college girlfriends love Galentine's Day.

 

[tasha99]

If Single's Awareness Day can be a thing (it is 2/15) then I guess Galentines Day can be too.

All I have to say is STOP THE MADNESS!

I never knew SAD was a thing. Its what I've called Valentines Day for years, because it was the one day that made me acutely aware of being single (back when I was).

 

[disneychrista]

I never knew SAD was a thing. Its what I've called Valentines Day for years, because it was the one day that made me acutely aware of being single (back when I was).

Yep. V-Day kind of sucks already. Who We DO NOT need a day to make us any more aware that we are single.

 

[disneychrista]

Then it should be called Palentine's Day. Is it even OK to refer to women as gals? Modern life is fraught with complexity...

Gal is no longer an acceptable term?

 

[Princessclab]

Gal is no longer an acceptable term?

I am sure it is offensive to someone somewhere for an obscure reason...

Never heard of Galentine's; maybe it is a regional thing.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

So the male version is Guyentine's Day?

Nah. We celebrate our friendships on days ending with "Y".

 

[mom2rtk]

Yep. V-Day kind of sucks already. Who DO NOT need a day to make us any more aware that we are single.

I think Galentine’s day lets women celebrate the day without feeling pressured to pair up with a guy. I love that’s how my young adult daughter celebrates.

 

[disneychrista]

I think Galentine’s day lets women celebrate the day without feeling pressured to pair up with a guy.

I was referring to Singles Awareness Day (SAD).

 

[marthachick]

Weird holiday, I tell DH Valentines is a day for guys who screw up all year to make it up to their SO with a big show and since he does the right thing all year he's off the hook.

DH used to work in a department with a lot of women. He said most of them would talk crap about their husbands every day of the year. But if their husband sent flowers on Valentine’s Day, he was ‘the sweetest man ever’. He used to laugh about that quick transformation.

 

[starry_solo]

I'm playing Diner Dash Adventures and they call it Palentine's

 

[wildride]

Wasn’t this called “girls night out”?

 

[disneychrista]

Wasn’t this called “girls night out”?

GNO was a weekly/monthly (can't remember which) thing around me. Thursday nights I believe. Never participated in it though.

 

[Figment of Speech]

@wildride and @design_mom already mentioned this, but it bears repeating... Galentine's Day is a pop culture invention that comes from the 2009-2015 NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation.* It's kind of like Festivus from Seinfeld,** a made-up holiday that seeped into the mainstream to such an extent that some people celebrate it and don't even realize that it originated on a TV show. Galentine's Day actually shows up in three different episodes, which aired in 2010, 2012, and 2014. The first and the third ones were both titled "Galentine's Day."

The name and the traditions associated with it come directly from there; Amy Poehler's character, Leslie Knope, is a gift fiend who values her female friendships and likes dorky puns like "ovaries before brovaries." She creates holidays for everything and prides herself on being the world's greatest gift giver. But real-life Galentine celebrators don't need to do the same thing. Not everyone wants to create mosaics out of the crushed bottles of their friends' favorite diet sodas. Or embroider pillows with headlines from their friends' dates of birth. That's Leslie Knope, so if all you want to do is go out for mimosas, then cheers!

It seems like there are a few people saying "Why isn't it ______ instead?," and the basic reason is... that's not how series creator Michael Schur wrote it (yeah, a dude invented Galentine's Day... but he's a pretty cool dude). It's totally unsurprising that folks want something a little different, since Valentine's Day probably already has more alternate versions invented on or around it than any other real holiday. And hey, there's plenty of room for more!

So it can be observed however folks want to observe it (or ignore it), but I thought it would be handy to stress that it didn't just emerge amorphously out of some vague concept. The original concept comes from a specific time, place, and individual (Michael Schur in real life, via Leslie on TV). The first people to celebrate it were probably Parks and Rec fans who were honoring the show as much as they were honoring female friendships. Course, it's grown way beyond that now, but there's some value in knowing its roots, right?

* Can I swear that no one in the world ever used the name Galentine's Day before Parks and Rec? Nope (or should I say "Knope"?). But there's no real question that there was no widely agreed-on concept for it before the show. It's very fair to say that we wouldn't have threads like this, where various people talk about having experienced Galentine's Day celebrations first- or second-hand, if it hadn't been for the show.
** Festivus is actually less of a pop culture invention because a Seinfeld writer celebrated it in his family before writing it into the script, as opposed to being invented for a show from scratch.

 

[Mysterian]

Valentine's, Galentine's, Single Awareness Day.... it's all about selling Peeps.

 

[LovesTimone]

Never heard of this...

Not really sure about the reasons for it, other to sell more stuff...

 

[cabanafrau]

I miss getting together with my friends. I don't care what you call it, right about now I'd be pretty happy to be looking forward to dinner and drinks with friends.

 

[porschegrl]

Not really sure about the reasons for it,

Just two posts up from yours: https://www.disboards.com/threads/galentines-day.3825471/post-62673545

 

[LovesTimone]

Just two posts up from yours: https://www.disboards.com/threads/galentines-day.3825471/post-62673545

I read it.. and get it ...

I just don't see the why in it... I just think that everything doesn't need separate name - Valentines day can be used for couple's, or friends who have love for each other...

When I was a single a long time ago... If we were single sometimes we would get together, and hang out, have a spa night or even go out dancing, it wasn't a big thing... We just did not feel the pressure to have a date or boy friend, nor did we really care, ... Now it seems that young women and men have more pressure to " be with someone" due to all the social media that is posted.

DH and I will exchange cards and candy... I will take my DD and her family some candy... I will send text to family and friends kisses and hugs and tell them I love them...

 

[disneychrista]

I read it.. and get it ...

I just don't see the why in it...

Because it’s fun?


Well to some at least.

 

[tzolkin]

Never heard of this...

Not really sure about the reasons for it, other to sell more stuff...

I read it.. and get it ...

I just don't see the why in it... I just think that everything doesn't need separate name

I know you said you get it, but I'm not really sure based on your comments. It's from a TV show. It wasn't created "to sell more stuff" or because people feel lonely due to social media. It was created as a joke on a comedy show. It has a funny name and extravagant celebration because that's the personality of the character on the show. She celebrates all sorts of random, ridiculous things with over-the-top gifts. She invents "holidays" all throughout the show (Ann Day, Ben Day, Red Shoe Day, Butt Day, etc) There are two other characters who celebrate "Treat Yo Self" day. That holiday revolves around oneself, whereas all the "holidays" Leslie celebrates are about focusing on other people.