Get ready, girls! One of our favorite days is approaching. That’s right - it’s Galentine’s Day. Celebrated Feb. 13, the day before Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s Day is exactly what it sounds like: a time to spend with your gals.

What was once introduced in an episode of the television show “Parks and Recreation” in 2010 has now become a quite popular tradition - so popular, in fact, that Galentine’s Day was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in September 2022.

“The word follows in the footsteps of Friendsgiving, which was added to Merriam-Webster.com in January 2020 and is defined as ‘a celebration or meal shared among friends on or near Thanksgiving Day,’” according to a “Words We’re Watching” article by Merriam-Webster.

“What’s Galentine’s Day? Oh, it’s only the best day of the year. Every Feb. 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst - plus frittatas,” the character Leslie Knope says in the “Parks and Recreation” Galentine’s Day episode.

Having close friendships adds to the fulfillment, enjoyment and well-being for many women. There are aspects of our lives and similarities that women share that cannot be replicated with men. Galentine’s Day reminds us to celebrate its significance, to hold that connection close and to support our fellow girlfriends.

It can be hard to fit in connections and get-togethers with friends. I find this true now that I am in my mid-30s, married, a mom, an employee and have responsibilities to family, work and the community. But it’s important. When I do get together for a girls’ day, the time spent together always provides me with a renewed sense of self, a more relaxed feeling and a happiness for the friendship that has blossomed.

In the Atlantic article titled “Galentine’s Day: How a Beloved Fiction Became a Beloved Tradition,” writer Megan Garber says, “The products revolve around broader cultural ideas about self-love and self-care and lady power. And the holiday that they are meant to commemorate has become, in part through those products, thoroughly associated with feminism and female friendship and a broader celebration of women and their worth. It is political, in the gentlest and most cheerful of ways.”

Before I started writing this piece, I texted a friend and asked if she wanted to get together for brunch in February. She happily accepted. Brunch has been planned - mimosas a must.

If you are thinking the same as me and want to plan a gathering, below are a few holiday-themed events at local libraries. I chose these locations because February is also National Library Lovers Month, making it a perfect combination!

• Clothesline heart picture frame craft event, 6-7 p.m. Feb. 2, at Whitehall Township Public Library, 3700 Mechanicsville Road, Whitehall. Join the library to make a clothesline heart picture frame just in time for Valentine’s Day. This program is for ages 18 and older. Registration is required.

• Heart-filled picture frame craft, 6-7 p.m. Feb. 6, at Emmaus Public Library, 11 E. Main St., Emmaus. Painting will be involved during this program. Supplies will be provided for the first 30 participants - first come, first served.

• Cookery and Conversation Club event, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Feb. 7, at Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity, 295 E. Center St., Nazareth. Before the event, check out a cookbook from the library. Make and bring a valentine-related item from it to share - something red or pink, a food you love, etc. Offer your review of the cookbook with the other attendees. Registration is required.

• Valentine tote bag craft event, 5:45-6:45 p.m. Feb. 13, at Bethlehem Area Public Library, South Side branch, 400 Webster St., Bethlehem. Participants will be decorating tote bags using a heart stencil and the ends of pencils dipped in red paint. This program is for ages 18 and older. Registration is required.

Call up your girlfriends to spend some quality time together.

In the Pawnee Rangers episode of “Parks and Recreation,” Knope says, “I am a goddess, a glorious female warrior, queen of all that I survey. Enemies of fairness and equality, hear my womanly roar. Yeah!”

Who doesn’t want to celebrate that? Happy Galentine’s Day, you beautiful goddesses, warriors and queens.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Whitehall-Coplay Press

Northampton Press

Catasauqua Press