Galentine’s Day Isn’t Just for Single People

As the buildup to Valentine’s Day intensifies, you might feel the need to prioritize romantic love above all. But there’s a holiday we shouldn’t forget: Galentine’s.

There aren’t enough holidays that celebrate friendship, one of the most important types of relationships we can have. That’s why Galentine’s Day cannot—and should not— be missed. Originally the creation of Parks and Recreation fictional character Leslie Knope, who is played by Amy Poehler, Galentine’s Day is meant to acknowledge and uplift female friendships. Symbolically, it’s celebrated on February 13th, the day before Valentine’s Day to show its importance, though it can be celebrated any day really.

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While it may be tempting to focus solely on Valentine’s Day, especially if you’re in a new relationship, celebrating Galentine’s Day with your friends can be a worthwhile tradition to keep. Even if you’ve been in a relationship for a while, getting together with friends and acknowledging how much you mean to each other is just as important during the season of love. It never has to be one or the other.

We can sometimes take our friendships, and how much we put into them, for granted. But repeatedly studies show just how much of a lifeline close friendships are to us. They can even be more important over a lifespan than romantic partnerships. Female friendships have the power to improve every aspect of your life and even help you live longer—that’s worth celebrating!

Yes, celebrating our love for our partners on Valentine’s Day is a wonderful thing. But we shouldn’t forget the love we have for the people who were there for us before that relationship started—who will take our calls when we need to vent and might be standing next to us as we take the next steps in life with our romantic partners.

In Knope’s version of Galentine’s Day, it doesn’t matter if you are single or partnered; you show up to share appreciation for the unique qualities of female friendship. A Galentine’s celebration can be as simple as a dinner out or hosted by a member of the friend group. It can be a happy hour after work or a walk in nature together. You can exchange presents, or simply spend time doing an activity that you both love. It’s the little things that often count most of all.

Read More: Why Voice Notes Are a Small Act of Love

Of course, as much as they enrich our lives, female friendships aren’t always easy, and there’s no road map for getting through a challenging time with a friend like there is for romantic relationships. In their book, Big Friendship, Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman discuss how difficult it was when they hit a tough patch in their friendship. Sow and Friedman, who had been friends since college and started a successful podcast business together, ended up working with a couple’s therapist. But it took them a while to find someone who was willing and able to work with two friends. It’s not common practice to work through friendship issues together in therapy, but why shouldn’t it be? Friendships are just as important as any other relationships we foster in our lives.

If you are anything like Sow and Friedman, you have likely navigated through some emotionally- charged terrain with female friends who you still hold very close to today. You may have been able to talk through it together, give each other space, or enlist another trusted friend to help bring harmony back to the friend group. You may have even sought professional support from a personal therapist, spiritual or religious teacher, or self-help books, podcasts, and social media content. Recognizing the hard work that goes into maintaining supportive, loving female friendships is crucial, especially since, according to a May 2021 analysis from The Survey Center on American Life, Americans are trending toward having fewer and fewer close friends since before the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve got to honor those who have made it this far with us.

Our female friends, whether we make them in childhood, early adulthood, or later in life, are often the people we rely on the most consistently over time. They see us through heartbreaks, hookups, situationships, marriages, health scares, pregnancies, abortions, grief, and so much more. They are an extra set of hands when we need help moving or watching our kids. They help us see when we’re repeating unhelpful patterns in our relationships, and they conspire with us on our dreams for our futures. And, if we’re a good friend, we do the same for them. We do all of this without a lot of recognition, outside of birthday celebrations and the occasional “thank you” card or dinner.

Galentine’s Day is an opportunity to center everything that makes friendships great. It’s not just about the fact that we have confidants who show up for us in our time of need. It’s that these deep, meaningful, multi-faceted relationships are ones that some of us have managed to maintain longer than any romantic relationship we’ve ever had. And that’s something to be as proud of—and cherish.

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