Valentine’s Day is a holiday notorious for over the top romance, chocolates, and roses galore. No matter the grand gesture, at face value, the holiday intends to show appreciation for your significant other. Back in 2010, Amy Poehler and other Parks and Recreation creators decided that there should be a similar day which honors platonic friendships, especially the ones shared between females. In the second season of the iconic show, Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, declared February 13 henceforth be known as Galentine’s Day. For the past decade, businesses and social media alike adopted this holiday for promotional reasons—the fictional holiday becoming reality.
In years past, restaurants and businesses have capitalized off of Galantine’s Day. With Valentine’s Day spending being at a steady downfall since 2009, Galentine’s Day coined at the most opportune time. The NBC comedy series, Parks and Rec, was gaining huge popularity. Women everywhere loved the idea to have a day to celebrate their friends. Where sales were lacking during Valentine’s Day, companies were able to make up for losses with Galentine’s Day promotions. The day, according to the show, centers around brunch, quality time, and gift giving. Being pretty broad, basically any sales team could put together a promotion for the day.
With the pandemic still in full swing, it is unlikely to see heavy spending for either holiday this year. However, with Galentine’s Day landing on a Saturday, it is still a good excuse to order in from your favorite local diner and have virtual mimosas with your best friends.
Will you be celebrating Galentine’s Day this year? Let us know down in the comments.
This article originally published on GREY Journal.
