Palentine's Day is a global holiday celebrating friendships and every other form of platonic love.[1] It is celebrated annually on February 13, but can be observed on February 14 as well, and complements Valentine’s Day, which celebrates romantic love.[2] The term Palentine originates from the combination of the words "pal", which is another word for friend, and "valentine". Palentine's Day emerged as a gender-neutral version of Galentine's Day, which focuses on women's friendships.[3][4]
| Palentine's Day | |
|---|---|
| Significance | The celebration of platonic love |
| Observances | Expressing gratitude to and spending time with friends |
| Date | February 13 |
| Frequency | Annual |
In 2020, the online dating service Plenty of Fish published an online survey of 2,000 singles pointing out four personalities around Valentine’s Day, one of whom are Palentines, who celebrate friendship and Palentine’s Day rather than romance and Valentine's Day.[5] The specific benefits for singles, for whom Valentine’s Day can be associated with mourning and feelings of misery, are increasingly recognised[6] and the need for a reinvention of Valentine's Day is acknowledged.[7] In addition, a growing amount of attention is being paid to the benefits for those excluded from Galentine's Day, like men and non-binary people.[8] In 2023, a study of viewers' perceptions of the portrayal of single fathers in the TV series Single Parents concluded that viewers responded overwhelmingly positive, praising two of the main male characters for celebrating Palentine's Day together, which "suggests a shift in norms around masculinity".[9] Megan Carroll, an assistant professor at California State University,[10] pointed out the importance of Palentine's Day for asexual and aromantic people, "and others who don’t live up to what she says are society’s ideals of romance and sex".[11] Friendships have a great influence even beyond private life, for example on employee retention and job satisfaction, as recognised in a small survey published by the Society for Human Resource Management highlighting “the power of friendship in the workplace” in a 2023 Palentine’s Day infographic.[12]
In light of the benefits of friendships and the importance to celebrate them, Palentine's Day is recognized, discussed, and publicly celebrated by a variety of players including bookstores, libraries, hotels,[13] movie theaters,[14] restaurants, academic institutions,[15] books,[16] and TV series. Several TV series even feature episodes titled “Palentine's Day”[17] and Palentine's Day is beginning to be established as a marketing tool.[18] The focus group approach in a 2022 study examining LGBTQ2S evaluation with youth benefited from improved marketing by being reframed as Palentine's Day focus group.[19]
There is a wide range of activities to celebrate Palentine's Day with one or more friends, including media marathons, hiking, or Karaoke.[20][21] The main focus is on spending quality time with one's platonic loved ones and on letting "those around you know how much you appreciate them and that you are thankful they are in your life."[22] In 2022, a comment in The Herald emphasised that our stories of platonic friendships are love stories and deserve to be celebrated, and that Palentine's Day is an opportunity to do so.[23]
References
edit- ^ "New words – 13 February 2023". dictionaryblog.cambridge.org. February 13, 2023. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ "Palentine's Day". Twinkl. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Franco, Marisa G. (September 15, 2022). Platonic: How Understanding Your Attachment Style Can Help You Make and Keep Friends. Bluebird. p. 240. ISBN 9781529075885.
- ^ "What Is Galentine's Day? Meaning and Origin of the Modern Holiday". grammar.yourdictionary.com. Archived from the original on February 13, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ MacLean, Kate (January 29, 2020). "The Pressures of Valentine's Day & Dating Study". Plenty of Fish. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Ridell, Karen (February 15, 2016). "Valentine's Day Doesn't Have to Be Disheartening". Psychology Today. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Davis, Deborah L. (February 14, 2023). "Reinventing Valentine's Day for All the Single People". Psychology Today. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Jones, Richard (February 14, 2018). "Gentlemen, it's time to remember our friends with 'Palentines Day'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Bernabo, Laurena; Turchi, Jennifer (February 2, 2023). "So You Think You Can Parent: Twitter Users' Responses to Single Father Tropes in Television's Single Parents". Men and Masculinities. 26 (2): 251–269. doi:10.1177/1097184X231155893.
- ^ "Megan Carroll". ORCID. Archived from the original on February 27, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
- ^ "At Local Universities, An Effort To Better Understand Love In All Its Forms". LAist. February 14, 2023. Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
- ^ "2023 Palentine's Day Infographic". Society for Human Resource Management. February 13, 2023. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
- ^ Schultz, Brandon (February 3, 2021). "3 Sweet Hotel Packages For Valentine's Day, Galentine's Day And Palentine's Day". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Doody, Kieran (February 12, 2022). "Showcase Cinemas offering 2 for 1 on chocolate and sweets this weekend". The Herald. Archived from the original on April 27, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ Priscu, Hana (February 10, 2016). "Palentine's Day" (PDF). Xavier University (Cincinnati) Newswire. p. 12. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ Forsthoefel, Megan (January 17, 2022). Squiggle and Marsh's Very Piggy Palentine's Day. Sleepy Fawn Press. ISBN 9780578321202.
- ^ "Palentine's Day". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ Gray, Luca Anna (February 14, 2019). "It's a privilege to say you hate Valentine's Day — remember that". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
- ^ Whynot, Jane; Heath, Sarah; Silver, Larissa; Robin, Charlie-Rae; Kent, Mathew (2022). "At the intersection of co-creation: Exploring LGBTQ2S evaluation with youth". New Directions for Evaluation. 2022 (175): 109–124. doi:10.1002/ev.20510.
- ^ Citysocializer (February 14, 2017). "What Is #PALentine's Day & How To Celebrate It!". Medium. Archived from the original on February 22, 2023. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
- ^ Mulligan, Kayla (February 8, 2022). "Galentine's Day: for the love of friendships". The Montclarion. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ "Celebrate all of the important relationships in your life on Palentine's Day". University of Regina. February 11, 2022. Archived from the original on February 23, 2023. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
- ^ Theis, Daniella (February 14, 2022). "Let's all celebrate Palentine's Day with our friends". The Herald. Archived from the original on February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.