In recent years, there has been a shift in the way that people celebrate love and friendship around Valentine’s Day. While we still hold the traditional way of celebrating, for example, couples getting together for a romantic dinner. We also see the rise of people, especially women groups, getting together to celebrate platonic relationships.
Enter Galentine’s Day, a day dedicated to celebrating female friendships and has now become just as important as “actual” Valentine’s Day. We first see the term on the popular television show “Parks and Recreation” where the main character gathered her friends for the same celebration. This new holiday falls on February 13th, a day just before Valentine’s Day, and it’s all about friendship.
It’s a day where women come together, whether it’s for brunch, a movie night, or simply to spend time together. What started as a fictional holiday on a television show has now become a cultural phenomenon, with people from all over the world celebrating the same holiday together. It’s no longer a question of whether will we have someone to celebrate Valentine’s Day with, but of when we will celebrate it with the people we love.
What is even more fascinating is how the rise of social media has opened groups where strangers can come together and plan events to celebrate together. In many cases, people might find themselves without a close-knit friendship group and instead have turned to strangers to be included in the celebration. The rise of social media and online communities makes it easier than ever to connect with like-minded individuals so that everyone can be included.
One notable group that does this is called Gals Who Brunch, where founder Tiffany Accardi organized an event where women could come together and celebrate. The event I attended was at Barbella, a restaurant in La Jolla renowned for its festive decorations. Upon arrival, attendees were given a name tag as well as a tote filled with Valentine’s Day themed gifts.
Along with the promise of gifts and conversation, the attendees were excited about the activities that we were told would take place that day. We were asked to write a valentine for each person at our table, and we also made a bouquet to take home. The group totaled 80 women, from newcomers to repeating members, as well as a wide range of ages, some single and some with a significant other waiting home.
While it can be hard to attend events where you don’t know a single person, these groups tend to be welcoming and filled with different ways to break the ice. This was also not limited to a single location, Accardi’s event in San Diego was just one of the many Gals Who Brunch gatherings that took place that day, and the event itself was global. I was lucky enough to get a chance to speak with Accardi and to hear firsthand about the amount of dedication that it took to set up an event like this.
As the event ended, it was clear to me that the event was a way for them to celebrate women and create possible friendships that might be harder to find in our everyday lives. The atmosphere was filled with laughter, camaraderie, and a genuine sense of sisterhood, which would surprise anyone who wasn’t aware that the group started as strangers. Moreover, the global reach of events like Gals Who Brunch highlights the universality of the human desire for connection and community.
In a world where technology often serves as a barrier to genuine human interaction, these gatherings serve as a testament to the power of face-to-face connection and the importance of fostering meaningful relationships in our lives. As we left Barbarella that day, each clutching our bouquet and handwritten valentine, we carried with us not just memories of a delightful brunch but also a renewed appreciation for the bonds of friendship and the joy of coming together to celebrate love in all its forms.