If Valentine's Day is a celebration of love, Galentine's Day is celebration of female friendships. The female-friendly holiday is celebrated a day before Valentine's Day, with gal-pals spending time with each other as they go on to celebrate their friendships
Though it is still an unofficial holiday, the day has become a rage across the globe with many companies jumping on the bandwagon by bringing out cards, gifts, accessories and other stuff to celebrate the day.
How did the trend start?
Celebrated on February 13, Galentine's Day was introduced to the world in 2010 when NBC aired "Galentine's Day" episode in its ongoing series Parks and Recreation. Show's lead Leslie Knope, a role played by Amy Poehler, hosts a waffle-filled breakfast to celebrate the women in her life. The idea behind it was to celebrate the day before Valentine's Day as an ode to the platonic love among gal pals, over drinks infused brunch.
In the words of Knope, Galentine's Day is: "Oh, it's only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, my lady friends 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."
The show ended in 2015, but the Galentine's Day tradition started by it continues even today. Till date cards featuring Leslie Knope themed messages are quite a rage when it comes to gift your gal pal. Poehler posted a screenshot of her character. She wrote: "Oh, it's only the best day of the year."
Twitter trends with #GalentinesDay
Rep Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) took on to Twitter to post about the day. She tweeted: "How do we celebrate #GalentinesDay in the House? Voting for equal rights for women!!" It was in reference to the vote for removing a 1982 state ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Former Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza, who played the role of April Ludgate, posted a photo her gal pals Poehler and Rashida Jones on her Instagram page. She wrote 'Happy Galentine's Day' with a heart emoji.
Former First Lady of US Michelle Obama too posted a tweet honouring the day. "On #GalentinesDay, I want to shout out my girlfriends who help me stay sane and grounded through all of life's ups and downs. Whether catching up over the phone or laughing it out during an 80s-themed workout, I know I can lean on these ladies—and that's made all the difference," she tweeted.
Dolly Parton tweeted an old picture in which she is posing with Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, of the Grammy winning Trio fame in 1987. "Let's go girls!" Happy Galentine's Day from your favorite trio," she wrote in her tweet.
Here is a look at some other tweets celebrating the day
