In recent years Valentine’s Day has changed from just a traditional romantic holiday between couples to a holiday to celebrate friendships. This is how the term “Galantine’s Day” came into existence. Galantine’s Day is for girl-friends to get together and celebrate their love and friendship whether they are in a romantic relationship or not.
Just because you have a significant other does not mean you can’t celebrate both Valentine’s Day and Galantine’s Day. Having this new way to celebrate is great for women to take back the holiday and gives them a chance to celebrate regardless if they have a romantic relationship.
Here are some personal stories of how women at Ohio University will be spending their Valentine’s Day this year. Each of these women is on campus this semester.
Erin Blackburn will be spending February 13thwith her close friends, hanging out, and grabbing dinner. She wants to still have a Galantine’s Day so that will be the day before because her boyfriend who lives in Indiana will be driving down on Valentine’s Day so they can spend it together. Erin and her boyfriend will be taking a trip to Columbus and plan to spend the day together, ending the day with a romantic dinner at the restaurant Nada.
Annemarie Grebenc will be staying in Athens this year because her boyfriend goes to a different college and Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday. She is still making the most of the holiday by still exchanging gifts with her boyfriend, as well as embracing Galantine’s Day. She is also working to plan a special dinner for her sorority house since she is the Director of Housing, she wants to give the girls a special treat the day. Annemarie also plans to spend the night watching Rom-Com movies with her girls.
Melanie Neuman has plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day on February 13th with her boyfriend by having dinner at Cutler’s Restaurant and Bunch of Grapes Tavern. After dinner, she has plans with some friends to have a small, safe gathering at a friend’s apartment where they will have Valentine’s celebration of sorts. They will be dressing up in party dresses and the apartment will be decorated with Valentine’s themed décor. As for actual Valentine’s Day, Melanie plans to exchange gifts with her boyfriend over breakfast, and then spend some time in the evening with her close friends.
Valentine’s Day is not the same type of holiday it was when we were kids growing up. It is not just centered around romantic love and couple, but also self-love, love for family, love for friendships. There are many different types of love to celebrate and enjoy for Valentine’s Day, whether it is with your significant other, close friends, your family, or even just yourself.