With Valentine’s Day upon us, Northwestern students are gearing up to celebrate Galentine’s Day.
Weinberg freshman Nadia Springer said Galentine’s Day is a day dedicated to expressing love to your friends, which can be hard to do at times with the business of daily life.
Springer said she celebrated with her friends this past weekend, and it was their way to show love platonically to each other.
“My friends and I got together and we had a cute PJ party,” Springer said. “We decorated vases and then we made flower arrangements. It was really cute.”
Medill junior and former Daily staffer Ruby Grisin said Galentine’s Day is an important and fun way to celebrate the people in her life. For friends who aren’t in romantic relationships, Galentine’s Day is a way to gather and still celebrate love in a less traditional way, she said.
Everyone is looking to have plans on Valentine’s Day, Grisin said. Galentine’s Day serves as a mechanism to have those plans.
“If you’re going through tough times in your romantic life, it can provide a solace and a safe space to celebrate the holiday,” Grisin said.
This Galentine’s Day, Grisin said she plans to celebrate by going to her friend’s house to make dinner and enjoy sweet treats.
In previous years, she and her friends have celebrated by decorating a cake with raspberries. Galentine’s has become more normalized recently, Grisin said, and it has had a more prominent presence in recent years.
For Weinberg freshman Sophia Gastolek, Galentine’s Day is a way to celebrate and cultivate the female friendships in her life.
This year, Gastolek said she plans to celebrate by gathering in a friend’s dorm, making the viral candy salad and watching “La La Land.”
Springer said some people who are in relationships struggle to celebrate both Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day.
“I think for some people, if they’re in relationships, they think they can’t celebrate Valentine’s Day and Galentine’s Day,” Springer said. “I think both can exist.”
For those who are not in romantic relationships, however, Grisin said Galentine’s Day is especially important.
“I think that the holiday itself is important to celebrate love, and there are so many ways to show it,” Gastolek said. “I just love telling my friends I love them.”
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